Mythical Beings and Mystical Feelings
by Emmelz Liebe
Summary: A girl with special abilities, who lives her life as a nomad, goes to a new place where she meets the one thing that changes her life forever... her imprint. Jacob BlackxOC
1. Prologue

"She's beautiful,"

"Isn't she, Phillip?" The new mother questioned, holding her newborn in her arms protectively, staring down at the bundle of joy that was her child.

"She's looks just like you, Janine."

"She has your nose and your brown hair color,"

"She has your beautiful, blue eyes,"

"We're so lucky…" She murmured. "I love her so much."

"I do, too, the both of you," The father smiled and kissed her head lovingly, as well as his child's.

"I'm going to do everything I can to make her happy," She declared, and handed the baby girl to her husband, who took her gladly into his arms and began to sway with her back and forth.

"I promise I'm going to protect her—nothing is going to harm her." He whispered, and took her miniature hand into his own, stroking the palm with his thumb. "My little Allia, I love you."

-{}-

"Allia, come here! It's dangerous at night!" Janine called, and watched as her ten-year-old daughter came running towards her, a smile on her small, pink lips.

"Sorry, momma!" The child yelled and ran into her mother's warm and welcoming embrace.

"It's fine, honey, I just don't want anything to happen to you." She said into her daughter's luscious, dark brown locks. "Come on now, let's go inside. Your father should be here any minute."

The child cheered with happiness and skipped along inside with her mother. Allia helped her mother prepare dinner, and raced to her father's side as he walked through the front door, looking grave—though his expression and mood became uplifted once his little girl was in his arms.

"There's my girl," He smiled, and hoisted her into the air, soon letting her rest upon his back. "How was your day, Allia?"

"Great! I went out and found some pretty flowers!"

"That's great, Allia, I'm glad you had fun." He smiled, and kissed her cheek lovingly as he set her back down.

Janine kissed Phillip and then smiled at her love. "How did it go?" She asked in hushed tones.

"Not too well," He admitted in defeat, whispering so Allia wouldn't be able to make out what he was reporting.

"Momma, Daddy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, honey," Janine replied with a smile. "Go to your room, and I'll go and tuck you in later, alright?"

Allia nodded with enthusiasm. "Alright!" She smiled and ran down the small corridor and into her room, closing the door softly.

Janine sighed, dropping the charade she had while her daughter was around. "What are we going to do, Phillip?" She questioned sadly. "We can't do anything to protect her—she's… she's in so much danger."

Philip enveloped Janine in a comforting hug and rubbed her back soothingly, telling her that it would all be fine. "I promised that I would take care of her—protect her, and I'm going to do just that."

"Phillip, they won't take 'no' for an answer!"

"I know, I know they won't. I… I… talked to Aro and… we discussed some things. I would let him take me instead of her. She'll be fine and you both can escape from here, make it out alive."

"Phillip, I can't just leave you!"

"There's no time for this, Janine!" He urged her. "This won't last forever! If I don't report back to him by tonight, they'll come for her and kill us. I want you both to be safe. I'm doing this, Janine."

Janine stayed silent and she was guided to a chair by Phillip who sat her down gently, staying down on one knee to remain at her eye-level. "I have to do this, Janine, we both know it."

"I know… I just don't want you to."

He gave her a weak smile. "Lord knows, neither do I." He smiled. "You both will know where to go. He'll take care of the two of you. I know he will. Carlisle would never let me down."  
>She nodded sadly and burst into silent tears, burying her face into the crook of his neck. "I love you, Phillip. You've given me everything I could ever want and more. You've given me love, kindness, and most importantly, Allia. I owe you everything."<p>

"You owe me nothing," He smiled. "I'm lucky to have had you. Nothing will ever change that. I love you and Allia with all I have." He paused and kissed her forehead tenderly. "I'm going to say goodbye to her one last time before I leave. I love you, Janine."

"I love you, too, Phillip." She blubbered out.

She watched her husband disappear into the hallway and walk into his little girl's room.

Allia looked up and smiled when her father came into view. "Hey Daddy,"

"Hey honey," He smiled back, walking over to her small bed and sitting on it. "I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" She asked happily.

Her ice blue eyes looked at him with joy and he felt a wave of innocence come from her, and guilt overcame him. She didn't know what was happening. What would soon be happening…

"Allia, in this world there are many things." He began, and pulled his daughter into his lap to make her feel secure. "There are the good and the bad, for example."

"I don't like the bad," Her smile began to gradually fall from her lips.

"No one does, really." He replied. "You always want to stay away from the bad people, Allia, they'll hurt you in many ways. There are people who will use you and hurt you just to make themselves feel better—to feel satisfied."

"Who are they, Daddy?"

"Vampires… they're known as vampires." He said gravely. "They'll attack you and hurt you to do things that will make them feel better. I don't want to tell you what they do exactly, it's too grotesque for you to hear at this age. Avoid them at all costs. You'll know who they are immediately when you're older."

"Why Daddy?"

"That's just in their nature." He sighed. "It cannot be helped. Promise me that you'll avoid all vampires, but will trust in one in particular."

"Of course, Daddy!"

He smiled. "That's my girl. There's one vampire who you can always trust no matter what—his name is Carlisle Cullen. He's actually a friend of mine." He said. "You and your mother have to find him. It's like he's playing hide-n-seek, alright?"

"That sounds fun, Daddy!" She shouted.

"It is fun, Allia," he smiled and then hugged her. "Daddy has to go and run an errand right now, but I'll be back—I promise. You can count on me."

"Okay!"

He kissed the top of her head and then walked to the door. "I'll see you," He smiled. "Sleep tight, dream of me and your mother."

She nodded eagerly and he walked out of the room.

Allia was just about to experience things that she would never forget.


	2. Allia Accalia

I ran.

I protected.

And I fought.

This was the lifestyle I adopted. No... this was the lifestyle that was forced upon me. I, however, didn't want this new and foreign way of living, it didn't feel right. I didn't have much of a choice though, ever since what had happened all those years ago.

It was not just something that I had to do—it was an obligation.

And in all seriousness, it was a duty, it was a job. I had a responsibility to keep them safe—the humans, I mean—from the…

_Vampires. _I thought, sniffing the air that surrounded me. I shifted my weight around on my four paws and crouched down into a position where I could easily run in a second.

Once I heard a twig snap, I went darting off towards it. My heart pounded wildly in my chest and my adrenaline rush made me pick up my pace. The crunching leaves felt good against my feet and the wind going through my fur made me feel the sensation of flying.

The scent was strong now—it was far too sweet and made me want to suffocate myself. I saw a flash and I knew it was him. It was the man who attacked the girl mercilessly with the intent of dining on her blood. The damned, filthy leech.

He looked back and smirked at me, exposing his elongated and pearly white fangs. His black hair flew wildly in the wind and his red eyes looked cold and vicious.

I went nuts at his taunting and my speed increased greatly, my feet barely touching the floor as I ran.

Suddenly… he came to an abrupt halt, flashing me a smile of victory as the scene around me began to change, shifting into a different world.

_No…! Not again!_ I thought in despair as the hard, dry dirt floor beneath my feet became more soft and slippery—muddy. _I can't let him get away! I have to kill him and avenge her!_

Thunder claps went off all around me and he was gone from sight. It was then total downpour among my new environment. Large, tall trees surrounded me and dark clouds were above me.

_Damn it…_

I started to walk in a random direction, hoping it would lead me to someplace where I could get a good night's rest away from the rain, and kept my guard up as I walked. I didn't know this land, this new territory, and this could've been swarming with bloodsuckers.

I had walked at least five miles before I smelt something that didn't sit well with me in the least. My nostrils flared and I felt my claws extend as my natural instincts took over. I crouched down closer to the floor and stealthily moved closer towards the smell.

In the distance, I heard growling and then a snarl ripped out as I heard a fight commence between what I suspected to be another shape shifter and the vampire. I was taken by surprise. It was rare to find another shape shifter, though I had seen my fair share due to my many years on this planet, but for the most part, I traveled alone.

I ran towards the fight, using my sensitive hearing to guide me. I jumped over fallen logs, dodged trees and their many branches that jutted out from their sides, and tried to keep myself as quiet as I could so I could keep the element of surprise on my side.

The stench the bloodsucker emitted made me want to choke myself, and then I jumped into the clearing. A large, light gray wolf jumped onto the leech and began to thrash the creature around. It looked like it had everything under of control.

_Maybe I should just go…_I thought.

The bloodsucker than tossed the wolf off and she landed against a tree. It shook violently, but didn't fall down. The wolf got back up and tried again for the monster. The vampire backhanded the animal and backwards into yet another tree. I heard a sickening snap, but I knew it wasn't from the tree.

The wolf didn't get up this time, and I knew leaving was now out of the question in definitely. I snarled and attacked him from behind. He yelled and hissed in surprise and anger, attempting to get me off his back. I dug my claws deep into his arms and I snapped and bit at his head and neck. I guess that I was venting from losing the damn bloodsucker from before…

The damn leech…

I jumped off him and he fell to the ground. I got on top of him and then ripped off an arm with my strong teeth and he growled and hissed at me. I raised a paw and then struck him, slashing his face with my long, hard nails.

I decided that this was taking much too long, and decided to end it right there by biting at his head, and wiggling it away from his neck and the rest of his body, beheading him. His movements ceased and I chewed him to bits and pieces to make sure that he would stay that way—dead.

I looked over at the werewolf that was conscious, but was slowly slipping away. Suddenly, she changed and reverted back into her human form in the nude. I averted my eyes from her private parts to give her the privacy she needed, and I knelt down beside her. She used the last of her strength to climb onto my back, and then pointed.

"Please… go that way…" She muttered. "La Push…" With that, she fell into an unconscious state, and I began to dash in the direction she pointed out.

Within a good ten minutes, I came to an area where I felt the presence and smelt the scents of other shape shifters and people. I slowed my running down to a mild jog, and listened for any sound.

A low growl was heard in the distance and I stopped walking.

Figures jumped out from the trees and bushes, and I was surrounded by an entire pack of Kentucky Derby-sized wolves. They growled viciously at me once noticing I carried one of their mates on my back while looking incredibly harmed.

They began to advance on me and then the girl regained consciousness right in time.

"Stop it, Sam." She mumbled. "She saved me."

The black, and largest, wolf of them—possibly the Alpha of the pack, loosened up his stance and let his guard down. The others did as he did and stopped their growling, though they were still on edge about my presence.

He went behind some trees and reappeared with denim shorts. He was tall, muscular and tan, much like many of the other few shape shifters I had come into contact with, and his eyes held a sort of dominance to them. The rain that fell and collided with his skin turned into steam, making a soft sizzling sound.

"My name is Sam Uley, alpha of this pack." He said. "Come with us."

I gave a slight nod of the head and he went back behind the tree, returning back to his wolf form. A few of the other wolves walked with me, surrounding me to make sure I wouldn't try to escape or run away from them.

I was led to a cabin that was a bit more secluded from the rest of the small town. A woman came out with an umbrella to shield her from the rain and smiled, but frowned once seeing the girl was upon my back. She rushed back inside and returned back outside with a large white towel and threw it upon the girl. The man named Sam scooped the girl into his arms and carried her inside with an emotionless face. He came back out with a shirt and a pair of denim shorts.

"Here," He put them onto my back. "Shift and get dressed."

I walked behind a few trees and then looked at the clothes. They obviously thought I was a boy by giving my tattered and holey shorts and a black shirt that read "Bro's B4 Hoe's".

_Guys… so predictable…_I thought with a roll of the eyes.

I shifted back into my human form and lost my balance, falling back onto the tree for support. I hadn't been on my feet in years. I dusted myself free of the dirt, and then slipped into the clothes, the fabric feeling odd and unusual on my skin. I felt a bit constricted actually and incredibly uncomfortable. I ran my hand through my dark brown, wavy hair a few times and patted it down a few times to make it seem more tamed than it actually was, the rain wasn't helping and was making it frizzy and more wild.

I took a deep breath to prepare myself, and I walked out from behind the trees and into the clearing. The fully clothed guys that were waiting for me, once seeing that I was in fact a girl, gawked and stared in shock.

One smirked, and whistled, walking over to me smoothly. "Hey babe," He greeted. "Name's Paul Reece, wanna go out sometime?"

"Not if my life depended on it," I replied curtly.

He looked shocked at my blunt and rather rude reply, and the guys behind him began to howl with laughter—no pun intended. He growled and began to vibrate angrily. Was he really going to loose it over a stupid rejection?

"Paul!" Sam's voice roared. "Calm down." He ordered, and his attention turned to me. "Come inside, we'll talk there. It's more private."

I nodded and I walked smoothly into the household. The woman who had brought out the blanket for the injured girl, smiled at me warmly as to welcome me into her home.

I returned the small smile and she guided me to the dining room table. "Would you like a glass of water?" She inquired kindly.

"If I may…?"

Her smile grew and then disappeared, reappearing with a tall glass of clear liquid. My mouth began to salivate with the want for the item and I greedily took it into my grasp, drinking it all in a few seconds.

"Would you like some more?" She asked with a small laugh.

"Please," I blushed with embarrassment.

She took the glass back into the kitchen to refill my cup, and I was left with the guys. The female who was injured was lying on the couch, her black hair visible from the dining room. Sam turned to me, preferring to stand while the others sat at the table alongside me, and began his interrogation.

"What is your name?" He asked.

"My name is Allia Accalia."


	3. Instincts

"Allia Accalia?" Sam looked perplexed by my unusual name.

"Yes," I nodded.

"Mouthful," Paul muttered under his breath.

"I hope you realize I can hear you perfectly."

He rolled his eyes and muttered curses about me under his breath, still not caring that I could hear him calling me a "smartass bitch". He seemed to be the most immature one out of their pack.

"You're going to have to ignore him, he has issues." Said one of the boys whose name I still did not know. He extended his arm out from across the table and smiled. "Embry."

"Nice to meet you," I gave a small smile and shook his hand.

"Why are you so nice to him?" Paul roared in annoyance. "And I do not have 'issues'!" Paul looked at Embry with hatred in his brown eyes.

"He, unlike you, isn't trying to hit on me." I gave him an annoyed glance.

He muttered once more under his breath and I could still hear him cursing my very existence.

"Paul, be quiet." Sam ordered.

"Well, since we're all introducing ourselves," one said, stretching to get himself comfortable. "My name's Quil."

"I'm Jared."

"I'm Seth!" The youngest looking one said enthusiastically. "And thank you… for saving my sister, Leah." He then got up from his seat and engulfed me in a hug, taking me by surprise.

"It's nice to meet you all," I said, and patted the boy's back soothingly. "And it wasn't a problem."

"Where did you come from?" Sam asked, getting back on track with the interrogation.

"I have to think about that one…" I mumbled. And I really did have to. It had been years since I thought about my home. Just a little over a century even. It came to me. "I came from Italy, from a small hillside town called Pienza in the region of Tuscany to be accurate."

"Who cares…?" Paul muttered.

"Paul!" Sam yelled. "Go patrol—_now_!"

"What the fuck, Sam?" He shouted back, but got up nonetheless and went out into the rain—wasn't like he had much of a choice though, Sam was alpha and had to obey him.

"I'm sorry about him," Sam apologized. "He's very temperamental. Why did you come here?"

"I didn't choose to come here. I've been after a vampire for a while, probably a few years, his name is Devin. He murdered a few people in a small village that I was passing through back in Europe. I've been trying to avenge the people that died for all this time." I said. "He has an ability though, he can transport anyone within a certain radius anywhere he wants in the world. As I was chasing him, he used that ability on me and I ended up in the woods here. I went walking and came upon Leah fighting that bloodsucker. When I saw that she was injured, I took it upon myself to help her out. I brought her here and well, here we are."

"Are you apart of a pack?"

"No, I'm alone. I've been alone all of my existence."

He looked intrigued by my choice of words. "How old are you…?"

I smiled. "I thought you'd ask," I sighed out. "Obviously I have the form of a seventeen year old, but I was born on December 31st, 1896, which makes me one-hundred-fourteen."

"Hey, when I shook your hand, your skin wasn't hot like ours. You feel like a normal human…" Embry stared at me in confusion. "Why is that?"

"I'm not your normal shape shifter." I began. "My mother was a shape shifter—the only girl in her pack, and my father was… well, he was a bit of a sorcerer or wizard, whichever term you would prefer to use."

"I thought… wizards were fake…?" Quil looked confused.

"Didn't you think supernatural beings were fake until you turned into one yourself?" I retorted with a small smirk.

"Point taken," He nodded. "What kind of a magic did he do?"

"He could do just about anything, really. He died when he went traveling to meet a few people, and then my mother and I went traveling around. She died trying to protect me from an attacking coven of vampires when I was a child." I explained. "Anyways, getting back on topic… My parents had me and I got many traits and abilities from them. Obviously, from my mother I got the shape shifter gene. I inherited quite a few things from my father. I can manipulate fire and it won't hurt me in either my human form or wolf form. I seem more human than other shifters, for instance like Embry pointed out, I run the average human temperature. I do have some disadvantages though. I'm easily hurt and I take a bit longer than normal shifters to heal, but still faster than a human. And there's also the fact that I'm not as fast as normal shifters."

"That's pretty cool," Jared said, grabbing a muffin from the table, taking a large bite from it. "Can you show us a magic trick?"

I gave a small chuckle, but nodded all the same. I opened my hand and I could feel heat gather on my palm. A small flame than burst from my skin and consumed my hand. It didn't hurt, and it in fact felt soothing. Everyone's eyes went wide in shock at the sight and Jared wanted to use my glass of water to put it out.

"Wow! That's so cool!" Seth shouted. "What else can you do?"

"I can put others on fire as well, and I can choose to make it hurt them or not."

"Can you try it on me?" He asked happily.

"If you want me to," I shrugged. "It'll feel warm, but you won't be burned. I promise."

He nodded and extended his arm out towards me and I put my burning hand next to his. I then let the flames jump onto his hand and everyone stiffened, thinking that he would end up hurt.

"Woah…" He grinned. "Embry, Jared, Quil, Sam, you've got to try this! It feels like I'm a heater."

"You already are!" Jared howled in laughter.

"It feels _great_!" Seth yelled.

"That's what she said." Quil snickered.

I looked at Seth's hand and the flame slowly died out. "Aw…" He pouted. I grabbed my glass of water and then poured a bit onto his hand. Steam rushed upwards and it felt like a sauna inside the house. "Allia, you're my new best friend!"

"No, she's mine!" Embry debated.

"Mine!" Seth.

"Mine!" Embry.

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

_"Mine!"_

"Mine!"

"Jesus Christ, just shut up already! You both sound like those goddamn seagulls from that children movie about the fish!" Jared yelled and hit each of them upside the head.

"'Finding Nemo'?" Quil looked surprised. "I just watched that last night with Claire." He smiled at the memory.

Sam cleared his throat and the atmosphere reverted back to becoming serious. "You're more than welcome to stay with us here for the time being. You'll be under surveillance for your stay here though." He concluded. "Nothing personal, but you're still a bit of a shady person."

"Don't worry, I understand. Thank you for your hospitality." I nodded. "Is there any way that I could maybe thank you or repay you for this?"

"Nothing comes to mind," Sam shook his head. "Just don't shift without one of us with you, and stay away from the more populated areas when you are."

"Oh! I got it!" Embry laughed. "Keep pissing off Paul!"

"I was probably going to do that anyways. He's quite entertaining to mess with."

Embry grinned hugely and walked over to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "I like her already, Sam. She can stay forever if she wants."

"You should put him on fire and make him piss his pants!" Quil burst out laughing.

"Dude, that'd be so fucking hilarious!" Jared howled.

"Boys, _language_!" The woman shouted from the kitchen.

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Sam sighed. "Emily come out here, please,"

The woman came out smiling and stood next to Sam, wrapping an arm around his waist. "Emily, this is Allia Accalia, she'll be staying with us for the time being. Allia, this is my fiancé, Emily Young."

"Nice to meet you," She said sincerely.

"You as well," I nodded.

She hugged me lovingly and as we pulled away, she said that it was time to start preparing the guest bedroom, and so she went up the staircase, disappearing from sight.

The sound of a motorcycle was heard, the smell of bloodsucker faint—making me growl inwardly. The engine died and then footsteps made their way up the porch, the door swung open to reveal a boy who was higher than six foot, like the rest of the guys around here, and tan, russet skin. His hair was rather messy due to riding his bike and was sticking out to the sides, though it looked nice that way. He had dark, chocolate brown eyes and they seemed to be shining as they looked around the room. They landed on me and my heart fluttered. I didn't even mind the scent of leech anymore…

_Oh no…_ I thought. _I imprinted on him._

Imprinting was extremely rare—_excruciatingly_rare. It was even rarer for a female shape shifter to imprint. If not rare, than it was absolutely impossible. I had always hoped to imprint one day… but… not right now—not like this. Not when I knew that it would never work out because I would have to head back to Italy—back home. I couldn't fall for him. I had to try not to.

"Hey guys," he greeted, and then looked over at me. "Uh, who is this?"

"This is Allia Accalia, she's a shape shifter from Europe. She was sent here by a bloodsucker's ability and she saved Leah from an attacking leech." Sam explained. "She'll be staying with Emily and I for a while."

"It's nice to meet you, Allia." He gave me a small smile. "I'm Jacob Black."

"Nice to meet you, too, Jacob." I replied.

I swear to God my heart fluttered like a hummingbird's wings flapping as he smiled and greeted me kindly.

"How was hanging with Renesmee?" Embry asked.

I was immediately swamped with jealousy. God, I already hated this whole 'imprint' thing…

"Oh, it was great seeing Nessie," He smiled fondly. "We played tag—she caught me quickly, Simon Says, Red Rover—we had to have Bella, Alice, and Jasper join us though, and then she made me play that number game with her…" He looked deep in thought as he tried to figure out the name of the game.

"Sudoku…?" Quil looked at him questionably.

Jacob snapped his fingers and nodded. "Yea, that one," He said. "I swear her IQ is higher than the average human's."

"Her IQ probably is. I mean, she was born five months ago and she looks like what?—A nine year old, already?" Seth asked.

"Not to mention they're all teaching her different things aren't they?" Jared asked.

Jacob nodded to both Seth and Jared. "Yea, I'm going home to get some sleep before patrol. That and I'm going to need some more energy before I head back over tomorrow." He smiled happily, waved a quick goodbye, and then walked out of the house.

After hearing his engine carry him away, I turned to the rest of them.

"She was born five months ago and she has the appearance of a _nine_-year-old?" I questioned.

"Her name's Renesmee Cullen, she's the daughter of Bella, a former human, and Edward, a vampire."

My instincts took over and a growl went off in the back of my throat. Realizing my new hostile emotions, I cleared my throat and looked at the floor. "I'm sorry… that was… uncalled for. It's just—a _human_ and a _vampire_? How'd the leech pull off _that_one?"

"Don't worry, it's understandable," Sam said, dismissing my earlier behavior. "She loves him. The girl has a weird mind. She was human when she had the girl, then she almost died of blood loss so they changed her."

"How… sorrowful… to lose your humanity…"

"She doesn't mind it—anything to be with the bloodsucker." Jared stated.

"There's something you have to know." He began. "We have a treaty with the vampires—the Cullens, our elders made it long ago. They don't step onto our land—onto the reservation, or harm a human being, and we won't reveal them for what they truly are."

Emily came back from upstairs and smiled. "Sam, I've just made the guest bedroom," She smiled. "You can go up whenever you'd like Allia."

"Would you mind if I go to sleep? I haven't slept in a few days." I asked them.

Sam nodded. "We'll wake you for dinner,"

"Thank you," I smiled sincerely before walking towards the staircase. "Which room?"

"The last room on your right." Emily said. "I also laid out a few clothes for you so you don't have to wear the boys'. Just leave them outside on the floor and I'll collect them later."

"Thank you so much for doing that, Emily."

"It wasn't a problem, now go on and get some sleep, I'm sure you're more than tired."

I nodded and walked up the stairs and into the designated room. I locked the door behind me as I changed into the clothes that were on the bed—a pair of comfortable gray sweats and a loose fitting black tank top, along with a pair of underwear and a sports bra, and put the clothes into the hallway like Emily had instructed. I crawled into bed and the simple touch of a goose feathered pillow and silky smooth blankets made my muscles relax, making me more tired than I had been in months.

_I have to stay away from Jacob Black… I can't have myself making this a more difficult leave than it's already going to be._ I thought. _It's going to be a long shot, but I'll have to try._

I'd have to go against my instincts.


	4. Familiarity

"Wake up, Allia!" An enthusiastic voice called. I stretched inside the bed and tried to ignore the continuous calls of my name. "Allia, Allia, Allia, wake up!"

I wedged my head between the pillow and the mattress, attempting to silence or at least muffle the sound. It was ripped from my hands, and the blankets that covered my body were stolen from me, the cool air grazing my body soothingly.

"What…?" I mumbled.

"Get up!"

"Why…?"

"Because!"

I waited a few seconds. "Fine,"

Hands grabbed my shoulders and quickly, yet gently, sat me upright. I looked up and saw Seth through my blurry vision, his smile was easily seen. I rubbed my eyes a few times and looked at him and saw the sunlight that was streaming inside the room through open curtains.

"What happened to waking me up for dinner?" I asked tiredly with a small chuckle.

"We tried!" He laughed. "You ignored everything we tried; we even put some water on your face! It made you groan, but you didn't wake up."

"Oh… sorry about that…"

He chuckled heartily. "It's fine; did you ever get a good night's sleep when you were traveling?"

"Um, I've stayed up for about two days lately, trying to hunt Devin down. Usually, I get about three to four hours—five if I'm lucky." I yawned out.

"Wow… so you're _really_sleep deprived," He mused. "Okay, well, here. These are Emily's clothes from when she was younger and in high school. Don't tell her I said that—she'll bite my head off. She found them when she was looking through her closet. She says that you can have them." He then handed me a large stack of clothes. "She said that there are about four pairs of jeans, some shorts, and shirts."

"Cool, thanks," I said and walked with them over to the dresser, putting them all away.

"Okay, well get dressed! We're starting to eat breakfast downstairs at the table."

"Sure, be down in a few minutes," I nodded and he walked out of the room without anything else to say.

I looked through her clothes and saw a pair of denim shorts and a nice and baggy white top. I didn't like wearing tight clothes, I felt a bit constricted. I'm actually claustrophobic. After changing, I walked down the steps and sat down at the table in an empty seat.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Paul greeted sarcastically, earning a few chuckles from Jared. "To what do I owe this displeasure?"

"Are you really going to be this much of a diva because I rejected you?" I looked at him oddly.

"You're a—"

"Don't start, Paul," Sam stated through a mouthful of eggs and bacon.

Paul gave his alpha an irritated look, but kept quiet nonetheless, obeying his command. It was quiet as I served myself and began to slowly eat, the delicious and well-cooked food that was going into my mouth tasting like ecstasy due to my rarely eating cooked food—or anything at all for that matter.

"So, how did you sleep, Allia?" Emily questioned with sincere curiosity.

"Like a rock,"

"Obviously," Paul muttered.

"Paul, be nice!" Emily lectured, giving the boy a stern look before returning her attention back to me with a smile.

"It felt nice, very relaxing. Thank you all again for letting me stay here, it's very generous."

"Think nothing of it, we don't mind." Emily grinned and took a sip of her coffee.

"Yea, you're cool, Allia," Embry smiled.

"Um, thank you…" I said through a small chuckle. No one had ever told me that before…

"So I was thinking, that maybe after eating, we'd go into Port Angeles and buy you a more fitting wardrobe? I know that my clothes may not be your style, and may be baggy or too tight on you." Emily said as she brought her empty plate to the sink. "It's all on me."

"Emily, are you sure?" I asked. "I don't want you to be doing things for me when I can't even pay you back."

"Yes, I'm sure, Allia. It'll do me some good to get some girl time around here." She chuckled.

I stayed quiet before I simply nodded and continued to eat. After having one last serving, the boys got up put their dishes into the sink and then left, saying that they would be back later after patrolling.

I helped Emily wash the dishes, put them all away in their rightful place, and then we were walking out the door. We got into Sam's truck and Emily began to drive towards Port Angeles.

"So what do you usually wear?" She inquired.

"Well, I'm usually in my other form, so I never really wore clothes. I would have to say shorts, tanks, and sundresses." I replied. "I'm sorry if that's not much."

She laughed. "Don't worry, Allia." She smiled. "What do you like to wear for shoes?"

"I like sandals—especially the ones with all the straps."

"You mean Gladiator sandals?"

"I believe so, yes,"

She nodded. "Well, I'm sure we'll be able to find something there for your taste." She said.

After driving for about forty-five minutes or so, we pulled into a more modern city. I hadn't been in one of these for years…

Emily drove into a parking lot and was able to snatch a good spot next to the exit. I got out and Emily led me towards one of the shoe stores seeing as my feet were squished inside of her old tennis shoes. We ended up buying three pairs: two pairs of gladiator sandals and one pair of regular shoes. We headed into another store and began to browse through their selection of clothes. We bought a few sundresses, shorts, tank tops, and cropped shirts. Emily did manage to talk me into buying a few jeans, saying that rainy and chilly weather was common, and so with that we were heading back to La Push.

"Thank you for doing this for me, Emily. It really does mean a lot." I said.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I had fun shopping. I hardly do it." She said. "When you're living in a house full of teenage boys and men, you don't get to do many feminine things."

"I haven't had clothes in months, but I haven't had my own clothes in years."

She frowned, but then it turned slowly into a grin. "Well, I'm glad I could be the one to provide you with them."

"Thanks, Emily," I smiled gratefully.

-{}-

As soon as we got home, I immediately put my new clothes away into the dresser that had occupied my room before and walked downstairs to find Sam and Embry walking in.

"Hello Allia," Sam greeted.

"Hey Allia," Embry grinned.

"Hey Sam, Embry," I replied. "What's up?"

"Embry was going to take you out and show you how we patrol the area." Sam explained. "Show you the territory and where the borders are."

"Oh, okay," I nodded. "Sounds good."

"Yea, so come on," Embry motioned towards the door by moving his head and gave me a smile. I gave a small smile back and then walked out with him to the tree line. "Just go behind the trees and shift, I'll go more over here so you can get some privacy."

"Okay, where do I put my clothes?"

"Just go ahead and leave them on the floor. No one will take 'em."

I nodded and went behind a few of the large Red Oaks. I stripped down and then began to shift, feeling myself naturally go onto all fours. I felt the dirt between my paws and my senses enhance.

I heard someone getting closer and saw a gray wolf with dark spots on his back come out timidly from the trees. He motioned his head towards the thicker area of the woods, and I nodded back. Since we couldn't hear each other, I could only guess as to what he was trying to get through to me.

We slowly walked in that direction until we got to a brisk jog. He would occasionally sniff the trees, air, and ground, searching for a trace of vampire, and took me around what I thought was the border. About an hour had passed and even though Embry and I couldn't understand what we were trying to say to each other, it was funny as hell trying to figure it out.

Embry began to charge at me and tackled me into a tree—not hard, just playfully, and he ran off. I thought that I was supposed to take this as a hint to start playing Tag, and so I set off after him, following his scent that he left behind.

It led me do a stream and I cursed him mentally. Scents always got lost in water… How was I supposed to find him now…?

I licked my lips with my long dog tongue and bent over to take a sip of the water. The cool liquid that went down felt wonderful on my dry mouth; I could feel it soothing my hot insides as it went down my throat.

My nose twitched and my claws jutted out from my paws, and my head darted up. I saw the small child vampire and felt bad for what I was about to do. The poor child never stood a chance…

I bared my teeth at it and a low growl escaped from my throat. The child didn't flinch or show a sign of fear or surprise, and I let out a loud bark of anger at that. I wanted the thing to be frightened of me. It made me feel like I wasn't the one in danger.

Then I noticed something. From inside the girl… a heartbeat was thudding aloud, and I stopped my barking at the girl for a while.

A vampire then appeared from the brush, racing in front of the child with a loud hiss coming from her mouth. She had brown wavy hair, chalk white skin, and amber eyes.

Seeing the new vampire sent me once again into a frenzy as I continued growling and barking.

Out from behind the trees, a russet colored wolf came springing out and stopped right in front of me, growling and baring it's teeth, sending death glares right at me.

The eyes of the wolf made me feel soothed and reassured—almost as if there was no problems.

The feeling made me realize that it was Jacob underneath all that silk-like fur. My imprint was the one who was looking at me with such unimaginable hatred.

I backed off almost instantly and took a few steps back.

Embry burst through the trees and then looked at the scene. He went towards me and guided me into the trees, out of sight.

He shifted and I made sure not to look at his private parts. "Go home and tell Sam to come to the stream. Then shift back but make sure to bring your clothes along this time."  
>I slowly nodded and watched him shift back into his own form, and return back to where Jacob was. I darted off into the woods and it took me about five minutes to get back home.<p>

I changed into my clothes that were still there like Embry said they would be, and ran into the home, finding Sam talking with the rest of the pack.

"Sam, Embry needs you at the stream." I said immediately once they were in my sight.

He stood up along with everyone else and went running out the door and into the woods.

"Just had to do something wrong, didn't you, Allia?" Paul muttered.

I rolled my eyes and began to run out too when Emily stopped me.

"Wait," She called.

I halted right at the door, almost skidding through the screen and turned to face her. "Yes, Emily?"

She quickly came over and handed me a string. "Tie your clothes to this. This is how the boys and Leah do it." She said.

"Thank you," I smiled and gave a quick nod before bursting out the door and into the trees.

After tying my clothes onto the string and putting it around my ankle, I shifted and went sprinting off into forest after the pack. I got there within minutes and quickly changed back into my clothes walking out to find everyone's eyes on me. There were more vampires here and the entire pack was assembled before my eyes.

To say the least, it was intimidating.

Nervously, I walked over to Embry's side and stood there, and Sam continued to talk with who I thought was the leader of their vampire coven.

"This is Allia Accalia, she's new here and doesn't know the territory or your family. When Renesmee showed herself, she was caught by surprise." Sam explained. "At least that's what I believed to have happened." He looked over at me for a confirmation.

"Yes, that's what happened."

"Remember everything that you did," One of the leeches with brown, gravity defying hair spoke. "Step by step. Think of what happened." I looked at the leech as he now stood next to the mother of Renesmee, and I slowly nodded, confused but willing to cooperate.

I thought of the stream, how I took a drink, Renesmee's smell and unusual heartbeat, and then how the woman came out with a protective hiss of her child.

The man nodded. "She's telling the truth." He stated.

"Hey, I'm sorry for all the commotion I've caused. Really… I mean it." I spoke. The thing was, I meant it sincerely, however saying it to a bunch of leeches just didn't sit right with me. It felt backwards… "Are we alright?"

There was a silence and the man looked at me questioningly, as if trying to see if there was some underlying meaning behind my apology. Was it really that hard to believe me…?

"Edward…" A man with sleeked back, platinum blond hair looked at him expectantly.

"Yes… we're fine." Edward nodded. "And yes, it is a bit hard to believe you."

The air seemed to become less tense and easier to breathe, even if he was still hostile towards me. Everyone began to walk away when one of the vampires called out for us.

"Sam, wait," We turned to see the platinum blond haired man again. "Would you mind if I introduce my family to Allia?" He shook his head and the man smiled before looking over at me with the small grin. "My name is Dr. Carlisle Cullen. This is my wife, Esme, and my children, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, Edward and his wife Bella. Renesmee is my grandchild."

"It's nice to meet you all." I nodded.

The blond one, Rosalie, sneered and rolled her eyes. "Stupid lying mutt,"

"Rosalie," Carlisle warned. "Anyways, feel free to come over to our home whenever you'd like. Our door is always open."

_Weird offer,_ I thought. _I never planned on getting invited anywhere by a vampire._

Carlisle simply nodded, flashed a quick smile, and then went off along with his family into the woods in a blur.

"Are you fraternizing with the enemy, Allia?" Paul questioned.

"Paul, shut your mouth!" Embry yelled in my defense. "God, stop being such a whiny bitch!"

"Why are you comparing me to _her_?" Paul spat. "And why are you sticking up for her, anyways? I'm your brother—you should have my back not hers. Do you wanna get in her pants or what?"

Embry burst out of his clothes and into his wolf form. A growl ripped from his throat and it echoed loudly, rebounding and ricocheting off the trees. Paul did the same and the two flew at each other, snapping, biting, barking, and jumping at one another.

"Embry! Paul! Stop fighting, _NOW_!" Sam barked angrily, his voice booming with authority. I had never seen him so infuriated… Both boys changed back and I averted my eyes from their nude bodies. "I want everyone to go back home now. Embry, Paul, we're going to have to talk about both your attitudes. Get going. Now."

Everyone walked behind the trees and shifted, soon running together back home. The mood that surrounded us made me hang my head down slightly in shame.

Why was I creating such a ruckus for these people?

And why did the name Carlisle Cullen have such a familiarity to it…?


	5. Welcome to The Volturi

I really hadn't done much of anything since we got home that day. I stayed in the guest bedroom unless called for something or for meals. I still felt horrible for causing such a commotion a few days ago. I was also trying to remember where I had heard that name—Carlisle Cullen—from. It was taunting me every second of the day, a puzzle that seemed like it would forever remain unsolved.

I wanted to find that missing piece.

I _needed_to find that missing piece.

If I didn't, it would probably be the death of me.

A knock on my door brought me out of my brooding mood and I looked up at the wooden barrier, crossing my legs comfortably on my bed. "If its Paul, fuck off," I muttered, fully knowing that the person behind it would be able to hear me crystal clear. A familiar laugh made me smile, and I knew it was Embry. "Come in, Embry."

The door opened and the tall boy walked in with his grin on his lips, closing the door behind him and sitting next to me on my bed.

"How've you been? You've been all alone in here for a while, and even though I've only known you for about a week, I know that's not normal for you." He said.

"I'm just thinking about everything that I caused."

"You didn't 'cause' anything. It was just something that was taken the wrong way. It happens, Ali."

I smiled at the nickname—I hadn't really had one before. "Ali?"

"It's either that or Lia, which sort of reminds me of Leah, so… actually you're stuck with Ali." He smiled.

"I like Ali, but what about Lee?"

He put a hand under his chin and put on his 'thinking cap'. "I think I can live with, Lee." He rustled my hair with his large hand and we both laughed after I swatted it away.

"So, why did you come up here?"

"Can't I just visit you whenever I please?"

"You can, but there's usually a reason for a visit."

"How about… just to see a friend?"

"I guess that'll have to do for now." I smiled. "Oh, what happened to that 'conversation' you, Sam, and that prissy bitch had?" I asked, referring to Paul.

He sighed. "Nothing. He yelled at Paul mostly. He told me that I had to keep myself in line too, not just Paul. He told Paul to get over himself and to treat you with respect because you saved Leah's life."

I chuckled. "Well, I'm glad that Paul got put in his place. I'm tired of him always snapping."

"Yea, you and me both. Paul's hating life right now though, so I'm pretty happy." He laughed. "I'm sure he'll warm up to you in a few weeks—maybe a few months."

"I'd say years," I rolled my eyes.

"Yea… you're probably right."

"Why was Jake with them that day?" I asked curiously.

"With who?—The Cullens?"

"Yea… yea, the Cullens." I nodded.

"Oh… well, before she changed, Bella, the mother of Renesmee, was a close best friend since their diaper days." He said. "Not to mention that Renesmee is his imprint."

I felt my hands ball up into fists and the blankets that were beneath my fingertips were now scrunched up underneath my white knuckles.

Embry's eyes looked down at my hands and his widened. "Whoa," He chuckled. "Wait… do you… have a _thing_ for Jake?" His eyebrows wiggled in suspicion. "Or did you _imprint_on him?" He grinned.

"That's ridiculous. Female shifters do _not_imprint." I lied and looked away from his penetrating gaze, feeling a blush creep upon my cheeks.

I seriously needed to improve my lying skills.

He burst out laughing. "You _imprinted_on him?"

"Shut up, Embry!" I yelled and smacked him upside the head.

He continued to laugh. "Don't worry, the only person here is Emily, and she can't hear us from downstairs." He said, rubbing the sore area. "So… you really did imprint on Jake?"

"Yes, but you're not telling anyone, got it?"

"Yea, yea sure,"

"I'm serious, Embry. I don't want anyone finding out about this."

"Yes, I promise. But you're going to have to tell him, you know."

"Nope, that's not on my to-do list." I shook my head in disagreement.

"Why not?" He looked at me shocked. "Allia, he has the _right_to know that you imprinted on him."

"It'd only complicate things, Embry. He has his own imprint."

"So? Allia, it doesn't change the fact that you imprinted on him. You're always going to feel something for him no matter what. Hey, who knows… maybe he'll return the feelings?"

"I doubt it." I groaned out. "His heart is for Renesmee and for Renesmee alone. It doesn't work both ways. It's impossible. You can't love two people with so much passion." I said. "Besides, I imprinted on him. He didn't imprint on me. He imprinted on the demon baby."

"Don't hate now, you know people can't control who they imprint on."

"Obviously. If I could control who I could imprint on, I'd have done it by now and not with Jacob." I said. "He probably hates my guts because I growled at the girl."

"Well, I wouldn't put it that way, but he sure as hell isn't fond of you right now."

I felt my gut twist into a knot. Embry saying that Jacob didn't like me right now really put me in the wrong mood…

"Sorry, didn't mean to put you down or anything," He said. "I just thought I'd warn you."

"What do you mean 'warn me'?" I eyed him suspiciously.

Something was just screaming at me that this wasn't going to be good.

"Sam decided that you were going to go with Jacob patrolling tonight." He grinned sheepishly.

"Oh my God…" I groaned and my face went straight into my hands in disbelief.

"Don't worry, I'm patrolling, too!" He added quickly. "But… you're not going to be able to hear me… and I'll be running in the opposite direction, so…"

"You're _not_going to be there." I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for the false hope."

"Anytime, Ali," He smiled. "Hey think of it this way, he can't hear you, and you can't hear him."

"What's good about that?"

"It means that you don't have to talk to him about what happened."

"But I have to!" I yelled.

"Why?"

"Because I have to tell him how sorry I am for growling at that girl!" I explained. "If I don't he'll despise me forever."

He chuckled. "Spoken like a true imprinter,"

"Oh shut it,"

I scolded myself mentally. What had happened to me fighting my instincts…? I didn't have time for 'love', especially when I had other things to worry about—like Devin for instance. I had to kill that son of a bitch…

"You know what? Never mind, I don't need to apologize for anything because I just remembered something. I don't need anyone like Jacob. I don't need an imprint. I can live without one."

Embry's jaw dropped. "That's like saying that you want to try living without air… without _food_!"

_Of course he'd concentrate more on the food part…_I thought, and I felt my lips curve slightly upward in a small smile.

"Hey, I've survived this long without an imprint. I think I can live without one for the remainder of my life." I shrugged.

"Yea, but now you'll know that you actually have one. You didn't know that before. This changes _everything_." Embry debated. "It'll kill you knowing that you lost your imprint without even trying to get him."

"Damn it, I hate it when you're right." I muttered, causing him to smile victoriously. "Hey, Embry… why do you care so much?"

"I haven't imprinted yet, and I want to… so badly. Every time I pass a new girl on the streets, I always hope that she'll be the one, but it never ends up happening. I sometimes think I'll never find an imprint, and that I might stay alone forever. Everyone else is imprinting and I'm the only one who hasn't. Just yesterday, when Rachel, Jacob's sister, came over for a visit, even Paul imprinted. Mother fucking Paul, who doesn't give a shit about commitment, imprinted." He sighed. "Maybe I'm not as good as the others."

"Don't start with the whole 'self-pity' thing, Embry. It's so not you." I said. "You're looking at a girl who didn't imprint until she was 114-years-old. These things take time, Embry. They don't just magically happen like that… okay, so they do, but you know what I mean!" He laughed and nodded in understanding. "Just think of it this way… each girl you pass up isn't special enough. The longer you wait for the right one, the more special that one will end up being. My guess is she'll be amazing for you and everyone will love her."

Embry smiled and pulled me into a hug. "Thanks, Ali that does make me feel better." He said softly. "It means a lot."

I nodded and pulled away from the warm and welcoming embrace. "Sure, Embry. You're my number one." I smiled.

There was a knock on the door and Emily's head popped in. "Hey you two, everyone is just getting here. Come down, dinner's ready." She smiled.

We both exchanged hungry glances and went down the staircase and sat at the dining room table that was beginning to become crowded with hungry people with empty stomachs.

-{}-

Everyone had just left, Sam and Emily ascended the stairs up to their room, while the others headed to their respective homes. The only two remaining were Embry and Jacob who were still ravenously eating what seemed to be their fifth serving of dinner. I had finished on my second serving. My being only a half-shifter caused me to not have as big an appetite as they did.

I took my plate and my cup to the sink to wash it, and Embry and Jake soon brought me theirs. I washed them quickly, and finished minutes later only to find Jacob sitting down at the table, tapping his foot to an unknown beat impatiently.

"Um… where's Embry?"

"He left for patrol," Jake replied. "C'mon, let's get going. We're late."

Awkwardly, I followed Jacob out of the house and towards the trees that would provide their usual cover for us.

I remembered the apology I wanted to make to Jake and decided that I should in fact do it right now. Even though I had decided to try and fight against my instincts to love him unconditionally, I still felt the need to apologize for being a threat to his imprint. It was the right thing to do.

"Wait," I called before he disappeared to shift.

"What?" He asked sourly, turning to face me with an annoyed look.

_Embry wasn't lying when he said he was pissed at me._

"I'm sorry," I began. "for growling at Renesmee and also at Bella. I didn't know who she was and I went solely on smell and instincts. Then when I heard her heartbeat, I didn't know what to do." I said. "Bella came out and then my instincts took over again. I growled at her too, and then you came and I know it didn't look pretty from your view." He continued to look at me with his rock hard stare, not showing any sign of emotion—it was making me intimidated. "I just… I'm so sincerely sorry. I promise that I'll never do it again. I know if someone ever tried to do something to someone I cared deeply about, I definitely would hate their guts, too."

He sighed, and ran a hand through his black hair. "It's fine… just… don't do it again." He said. "I should've made it more clear to you since you're new here and all. Any normal shifter would've done the same thing." He looked at me and I finally saw an emotion in his brown orbs—hope. "I'm glad that we can put this behind us."

"Me too, thank you, for understanding." I nodded.

He simply nodded. "Go on and shift. We'll be heading to the north."

I walked behind a few trees, tied my clothes onto the same string that Emily had given me, shifted, and walked out from behind my cover, seeing a familiar russet fur coat in the distance.

I jogged over to him and then we both began to sprint up north, sniffing the air and dirt beneath us for any scent of an unknown leech that could pose as a threat to anyone on the reservation. Hours had passed and nothing had been found. There was not a single trace of any bloodsuckers.

We were headed back towards Sam's house when Jacob came to an abrupt halt. I stared at him funny, wondering what could've been wrong. He gave a quick motion to the right with a nod of his head, and went darting off. I followed him with speed and was right behind him as he raced into a new direction.

I was hoping that this had nothing to do with Embry being in danger.

A blur of gray came towards us and I saw the familiar dark spots on the animal's back. It was an unscathed Embry. I smiled wolfishly and went up to him quickly, nudging him in the side with my head, thankful that he was alright.

By the way him and Jacob were staring intensely at each other, I knew that they were both deep in a mental conversation—a serious one. Embry turned and began to jog away, Jake followed and I could only assume that I had to follow as well, so I did.

Embry stopped and Jake and I sniffed the ground.

A low growl escaped my throat…

It was Devin.

He was here.

And I had just put a lot of people in danger.

Embry's head nudged me and I saw concern in his dark brown eyes. I'd tell them all what happened when we got back home.

-{}-

"I'll get Sam," Jacob said.

"You're not going to wait till the morning?" I asked.

"No, there's a bloodsucker out there, we've got to tell him and the others." He replied.

Embry came running up the porch stairs along with the others in tow. We had gone separate ways when we left the area. Jake and I came home, while Embry went for them.

Jacob and Sam soon came down, rubbing the sleep from his eyes tiredly and then looked at us with a serious expression. "What is it, Jacob?"

"There was smell, a new one." He said. "Embry found it not far from the border."

"Was it new or had it been there for a while—could you tell?"

"It was strong." Embry said. "Maybe a day old." He looked over at me. "Why'd you growl, Ali?"

"It was Devin. The vampire I was talking about." I said. "He's here for me." I looked at Sam, ashamed. "I'm sorry for coming here. I'll leave immediately if that's what you want, I can understand. He'll follow me away from here and La Push will be safe again."

"No," Embry said. "We'll take him."

"Devin's dangerous. You don't know the full capability—"

"We'll take him." Jacob restated. "It's only a stupid leech, Alia. Besides, we're a pack, you were alone when you fought him. We've got numbers. We'll take him out in a second."

I sighed, but gave a nod.

"Okay, we'll talk more about this in the morning." Sam decided. "Go home and get some rest guys."

Sam retreated up the stairs and the rest of the guys left. Embry was the only one who remained.

He gave me a smile and then a warm hug. "Don't worry, Lee, we'll get him. We're smarter than that stupid leech." He said. "See ya in the morning. Night."  
>"Bye, goodnight." I said and walked up the stairs as Embry left the premises.<p>

I changed my clothes, and crawled into bed, honestly tired. I stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, my mind absolutely buzzing with thoughts and suspicions.

_What in the world could stupid Devin be doing here?_

Finally, my eyes began to droop, and I fell asleep soundly.

_"Who are they, Daddy?"_

"Vampires… they're known as vampires." He said gravely. "They'll attack you and hurt you to do things that will make them feel better. I don't want to tell you what they do exactly, it's too grotesque for you to hear at this age. Avoid them at all costs. You'll know who they are immediately when you're older."

"Why Daddy?"

"That's just in their nature." He sighed. "It cannot be helped. Promise me that you'll avoid all vampires, but will trust in one in particular."

"Of course, Daddy!"

He smiled. "That's my girl. There's one vampire who you can always trust no matter what—his name is Carlisle Cullen. He's actually a friend of mine." He said. "You and your mother have to find him. It's like he's playing hide-n-seek, alright?"

"That sounds fun, Daddy!" I shouted.

"It is fun, Allia," he smiled and then hugged me. "Daddy has to go and run an errand right now, but I'll be back—I promise. You can count on me."

"Okay!"

He kissed the top of my head and then walked to the door. "I'll see you," He smiled. "Sleep tight, dream of me and your mother."

I nodded eagerly and he walked out of the room.

My father walked down the hallway, and towards the door, kissing my mother goodbye and slinging his cloak over his shoulders. He walked out of the house and over to his large white horse that was drinking and eating from the feeder, taking the reins and getting upon the saddle. The horse's head went up in slight surprise and my father led the horse away from the feeder and down the trail at a brisk walk until they were at a sprint.

They left Pienza and continued to head through other small villages in Tuscany, until they came to one in particular… Volterra.

When my father reached a certain building, the horse refused to go on, trotting back a few steps. My father got off of the horse and patted his head soothingly to calm him down as he took off his riding gear.

"I'm afraid that this is the end of the line for us," He said. "Thank you for getting me here. Go on," He slapped the horse's side and the horse went galloping off, getting the idea.

My father turned to the building, walked through the door, and then headed downstairs into the darkness. He walked out and came to large, towering double doors and went through them.

People were lined up against the walls in an orderly fashion, while three sat in king-like stone chairs.

"Aro," My father greeted, not showing fear to the intimidating group.

The one in the middle with dark brown hair, an all black suit for his attire, chalk white skin, and piercing, blood red eyes smiled a wicked and pleased smile. "Ah, Phillip, how nice to see you again." He spoke. "Did you think about my offer?" His wicked smile grew.

"Yes, I've decided that I'll be stepping in for my daughter." He stated.

Aro's grin faltered, but remained on his face nonetheless. "Fine, that's acceptable." He spoke. "Come here."

My father walked towards him and his footsteps echoed in the large room, the air thickening with tension. Aro stood up and smiled when Phillip reached him. Aro moved his neck to the side, his lips curling up and revealing his white and elongated fangs. They soon punctured his neck, and everyone could hear the pleasing 'sucking' sound as Aro drank his blood, but only Phillip could feel it.

He screamed and thrashed around in Aro's tight grasp. Aro pulled away soon, wiped his mouth clean daintily with a silk white handkerchief and put it away in his pocket.

Phillip was now on the ground, writhing and yelling in pain.

Aro looked at him in slight pity. "Take him to his chambers." Aro looked at his few guards expectantly, who then began to quickly grab Phillip and hold him up by taking one arm over each shoulder. "Oh, and Phillip…" My father's head slowly rose up shakily, and looked at him through his blurry vision. "Welcome to the Volturi."


	6. Suicidal Maniac

I shot up in the bed and took deep breaths, hyperventilating. My hands were entangled in the sheets, my fingers grasping them for dear life. Small beads of sweat were on my forehead and neck, and I could feel more starting to gather.

_What the hell was all that?_ I thought and ran a few hands through my hair. _Who are the Volturi?_

Why did this all have to be so confusing…?

Then I remembered what my dad said. _"There's one vampire that you can always trust no matter what—his name is Carlisle Cullen."_That was it. That's where I had heard his name from.

My father knew him…?

_I find the answer to one question and another one comes up._I rolled my eyes and put my face into my hands as a headache came about.

I only knew one thing. I had to find out more about this man, which meant I had to go to the Cullen residence to interrogate Carlisle himself.

_I don't even know where he lives though,_I groaned. At this rate I was going no where.

I pushed the blankets to the foot of the bed, and got up, stretching slightly as I walked over to the dresser. I looked through my clothes, and picked out a loose tank top and a pair of worn out denim shorts. I walked out into the hallway, grabbed a towel from a cubby, and headed into the bathroom for a quick shower.

Throughout my steamy wash, Carlisle Cullen and the Volturi raced throughout my mind. My questions and curiosity would be the death of me. Curiosity killed the cat, you know… however, it would be more like 'curiosity killed the wolf' in my case. You get what I mean though…

I soon came out, placed my dirty clothes into the hamper like Emily had told me to do so she could wash them, and I walked down the stairs, my stringy and moist brown hair shaking with each step I took. The smell of breakfast hit me like a brick wall as I stepped into the dining room and immediately I could feel my mouth salivating with hunger. I took my usual seat along with everyone else and began to serve myself, soon eating the food with greed.

"I was going to go over to see Renesmee and Bella today." Jacob said.

"Good, why don't you take Allia with you?" Sam suggested.

"Um… why?" He looked confused, and I was hurt by his response—though I didn't show it, Embry frowned a bit and looked at me with sympathy in his brown eyes.

"Allia can talk to them about Devin and what she knows about him." He said. "So that way they can be on the lookout for him, too."

"Oh," Jacob gave a nod and continued to eat his breakfast without another word.

_Thanks for making me feel worse than I already do…_I thought and gave a small sigh, my appetite slowly disappearing.

-{}-

I finished washing the last of the dishes and I saw Jacob sitting at the table, looking bored as his eyes gazed up at the ceiling, his head rolled back and looking relaxed.

"You done?" He asked.

"Yea, I just finished."

"Okay, get your shoes on and let's go walk over to my place." He said.

"Your place?" I asked.

I felt my heart slightly quicken, my moods became elevated with hope. Did he perhaps decide to cancel his meeting with the Cullens to get to know me better or hang out…?

"Yea, my bike is over there and it'll be better than running through the woods over to their house." He said.

Everything diminished into nothing. In fact, I felt worse than before, worse than I had ever felt before in my life…

"Oh, alright, I'll be down in a few." I replied and walked up the stairs quickly.

Once I got in my room I let my frown surface and felt my eyes collect tears in them. _Don't you dare let them fall, Allia Accalia. You don't need someone to love. You don't need an imprint. And you especially don't need Jacob._I told myself, and made the blurry vision go away within seconds.

"Allia, you done yet?" Jacob called from downstairs.

I felt anger swell up inside me. _Don't let it get to you._"Yea, just finishing, be down soon." I yelled back, a bit of anger evident in my voice.

I grabbed my gladiator sandals and slipped them on, securing the straps and walking out of the room and down the stairs, once again seeing the jerk wad who made me feel so confused and upset. I had to stop myself from letting out a small growl…

"Done," I said in a fake, optimistic tone.

"Great, let's go." He said, giving me a small smile.

I smiled back subconsciously, and when he turned around, I realized he had just, _yet again_, made my heart flutter with ease and purpose, and I cursed his existence in my head, my hands balling up into fists as I imagined myself strangling the boy cruelly.

With a roll of my eyes, I followed him out of the house and he began to walk in the direction that I could only assume was to his home. It was quiet, an awkward silence filled the air, and I could feel his eyes occasionally glance over at me, though I refused to let my gaze meet his.

"So…" He began.

I didn't reply, I simply ignored his attempt at starting a conversation.

"Uh… where'd you come from?"

I sighed, and decided to answer him to not make things worse between us. "Pienza, it's a small town in the region of Tuscany." I said, and I saw a look of confusion. He had no clue where Tuscany was. "Tuscany is in Italy." A wave of realization overcame him and he nodded.

"So you're Italian,"

"Yep,"

"That's cool."

"Mhm,"

I knew that my short and simple replies were getting to him, I could feel his curiosity about me diminish—something that I was happy and yet sad for. I liked him asking questions about me, well, I just liked to hear him talk actually, but I was still a bit upset from earlier.

"Are you mad at me, Lee?"

_Lee_? Who or what had given him the right to call me by the nickname Embry had given me? "No, why would I be mad at you?"

"I don't know, you tell me." He said.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you, Jacob…"

He sighed and that was it for our 'conversation'.

It was quiet the rest of the way to his house, and as soon as we got there, I took in everything about it. It was small, humble, with faded red paint, a tall white door, with a few patches of missing paint that had chipped off earlier, a small wooden porch with a ramp—why did he need one of those?—and a few shingles from the roof were missing and scattered everywhere. It was all surrounded by towering trees like the rest of the reservation.

It was then that I saw a man rolling out onto the porch in a wheelchair, and I immediately knew why he needed the ramp. He wore a black hat that was atop his long dark hair, a few of which were graying, regular jeans, a plain dark blue top, and a red plaid jacket. I needed no introduction to know that his was Jacob's dad—their faces were similar.

"Jacob," He called. "Who've you got there?"

"This is the new shifter Sam told you about, Allia Accalia."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you, Allia." He smiled and extended his arm out as Jacob and I finally reached him at the porch. I took his hand and shook it gently. "My name's Billy."

"It's nice to meet you also, Billy." I smiled.

His grin grew slightly and he put both of his hands onto his lap comfortably. "So how long do you expect to be staying with the pack?" He inquired curiously, not in any way sounding rude.

"I'm not sure. After the guys and I take out a vampire, I'm sure that's when I'll be leaving La Push and heading back to Italy. At least that's what I think."

"Oh, so you're a ways from home,"

"Yea, but I travel a lot so I don't have an actual home to stay at. Italy is where I was born and raised so I simply consider it home."

"Well, that only seems to be more of a reason to stay here." He said. "Where do you travel?"

"I've been all around Europe. Basically anywhere I can find a leech and keep the people around the area safe. I was last in Germany before I came here."

"How long were you there?"

"About five years, maybe," I said. "Staying there for so long made me a bit fluent in the language."

"That's very nice." he laughed, and soon turned to his son. "Jake, Bella called and asked when you were coming over because Renesmee is getting impatient."

Frustration flared inside of me, but I kept my cool on the outside, not showing any sign of emotion to the two of them. She could wait—she would live a long life due to her being half vampire, wouldn't she? Why was _she_in such a rush to get Jacob?

"Alright, we were just about to leave right now." He replied. "C'mon, Allia, my bike's over here." He began to walk over to a shed and disappeared into the building.

I turned to Billy with a smile. "It was nice meeting you, Billy. Hopefully we'll see each other again soon." I said.

"Yes, it was nice meeting you, too, Allia. I have a feeling we will." He nodded and then wheeled himself back into the house.

I followed Jacob's earlier path and he was just bringing out his black bike. I read the small metal inscription on the side and it read "Harley-Davidson Sprint".

"Here," I looked up and Jacob tossed me a black helmet. "Put it on." He mounted the bike and after I clipped the two pieces of string together, so did I. I sat right behind him and let my hands rest upon my lap. "Hold on tight." My hands went upon his shoulders and he looked at me weirdly. "I meant around my waist."

I moved my hands and slinked them around his waist as he told me to do, and had to scoot myself forward a bit to be more comfortable. Even though I couldn't feel his skin, my flesh tingled with excitement and delight at being so close.

The engine revved and vibrated and soon we went speeding down the black asphalt towards the Cullen residence.

-{}-

He parked the bike on the side of their large abode and I was in awe of it. It really was a nice home they had.

We both got off the bike and I unclipped the helmet, putting in onto the seat carefully. I shook my head, getting rid of the hat hair I had acquired during the ride over, and we both walked up the porch stairs. Jacob walked right on in and I stayed outside the house, feeling awkward about just walking in uninvited.

Jacob turned and looked at me. "Aren't you coming?"

"I wasn't invited in," I mumbled.

"Oh please, they don't care," He rolled his eyes.

"Yes, we don't." A voice spoke quite lively. A girl with pixie-like brown hair, curious brown eyes, and chalky skin came down from the stairs with a friendly smile. "My name's Alice, we saw each other a few days ago, remember?" I nodded slowly. "Come in, there's no need to be formal."

I stepped inside the house and looked around awkwardly. "Is Carlisle here by any chance?" I inquired.

"Oh, he's at work." She answered. "He works at the hospital in Forks. If you want, you can borrow my car and go over there."

"Are you sure?"

"Yea, go ahead." She nodded. "Jasper, could you bring me the keys?" She called.

From the hallway, a blond haired man came out and handed Alice the keys. He wrapped his arms around her and let his chin rest upon her shoulder comfortably.

"Thank you, Jas," She smiled and extended her arm out towards me, the keys in her small hands. "Here you go, just use the GPS to get over there."

"Thank you, Alice," I gave a small smile—which was extremely hard to do since their smell was repulsive and my instincts were screaming at me to just rip her arm off.

"Sure, bye Allia."

The two of them walked up the stairs and out of sight and I headed back out the front door. I found Alice's car, which was a brand new black BMW, and got in, easily turning on the engine.

_Hopefully I don't die in this thing._ I thought. I hadn't driven since… 1969, maybe…? _Whatever, I'm sure they're still the same._ I shrugged and began to play around with the GPS. I pressed down on the gas and went speeding off, way too fast. I pulled my foot off and braked. _Well that was much faster than I remember…_

I tried again, pressing lightly on the pedal and soon smoothly gliding forward.

"Much better," I sighed out.

Within ten minutes or so, I was arriving at Forks General Hospital. I parked in one of the parking garages and locked the car after getting out. I headed into the building and walked over to a receptionist.

"Hi, um I'm here to speak with Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Is he here?"

"He is, who are you?" She asked inquisitively.

"I'm a family friend," I replied.

"Sorry, but you have to have an appointment to speak with Dr. Cullen." She looked away towards her computer and began clacking away on the keyboard noisily.

Was she _really_going to pull that crap with me…?

"Sorry, but it's an emergency."

She looked up, surprised that I was still here. "No appointment. _No_meeting." She repeated, and returned to her work, a small smirk on her pale pink and chapped lips.

_If she's not going to help me, I'll help myself._I thought and began to walk away towards a directory to find where the offices were.

I was more than twenty feet away when the receptionist finally noticed I hadn't taken her seriously. "Hey!" She shouted, making everyone in the lobby turn and stare. "Get out of here before I call security!"

I didn't look back, I only continued walking towards the elevators, and pushed the button. I could hear her growl with frustration. I looked over my shoulder and saw her scramble over to her phone, pushing buttons furiously. "There's a girl here who is refusing to cooperate!" She barked into the receiver.

The elevator dinged and I walked inside the small compartment. I pushed the number three and it lit up. Three guards ran out of a corridor and saw me in the elevator.

"She's the one!" The receptionist yelled.

They then began to run at me, though the doors closed before they could reach the elevator. I felt the lift ascend and it soon dinged again, the doors opening once more to reveal a new level. I walked out and went to another directory, finding Carlisle's name soon enough.

I heard doors burst open and saw the three guards come out of the stairwell. They ran at me and I began to run away, memorizing Carlisle's office number.

_309… 309… 309…_

I looked at the plaques on the walls and found myself getting closer to his office. One read "Offices 300 – 310" and I smiled, soon I wouldn't have to be running anymore.

I turned a corner and smashed into someone—an extra guard.

"Gotcha!" Arms grabbed mine and yanked me backwards, almost ripping the limbs out of their sockets. "You're in a lot of trouble, missy."

"Let me go, you idiots!" I yelled angrily, flailing my arms as best I could in their grasp and becoming dead weight.

"Let her go, I know her." Carlisle's voice rung throughout the hallway. "She's here to see me. Let her go."

The guards glared at me, but let my arms go nonetheless.

"Think of it this way, you just burned off a few of the donuts you ate." I stuck out my tongue and their faces reddened.

Sure, it was lame, but I liked making them pissed off.

"Allia, come walk with me to my office." Carlisle ordered and ushered me away from the fuming guards before I pissed them off further.

We walked into a room and Carlisle closed and locked the door after me. He walked behind his large desk that was organized neatly and motioned for me to sit down on one of the chairs.

"So, to what do I owe this pleasant surprise?" He asked kindly with a small smile.

"Last night Jacob, Embry and I went patrolling. We found a new scent on the land, but it's one that I'm familiar with. It belongs to a guy named Devin. I've been trying to kill him for years when I still lived in Europe. He's tricky to capture. He's fast and has an ability."

"What is it?" He inquired, leaning forward on his elbows.

"If someone is within a certain radius of him, he can transport them to anywhere in the world. He just has to think it and they're there. That's how I ended up here."

"Do you know what he wants?"

"More than likely me, but the pack is refusing to let me leave and for him to follow me." I stated. "Anyways, Sam ordered me to come and tell you so that way you would know and be able to protect your family."

"Well, thank you for the valuable information, Allia." He said.

"It's not a problem." I nodded. "Carlisle, before I leave may I ask you a question?"

"Go right ahead,"

"Did you know my father—Phillip Accalia?"

He smiled. "In fact I did," He nodded. "He was a great man, one of my dearest friends. I met him when he was a young teenager, he helped me escape from werewolves—not shape shifters like you, Sam, and the pack, actual werewolves who change due to a full moon." He explained. "He saved my life and after that, we stayed in contact. I would visit occasionally and we'd talk, see how things were for the other." He gave a light hearted chuckle. "I'll never forget how I met your mother."

"How… what happened?"

"She shifted right in front of us and tried to attack me. Your father was able to calm her and explained our friendship to her before she did anything hasty, though. It was obvious that she was still on edge about me, but given some time, she warmed up and we became friends… _eventually_." I nodded and laughed heartily. Yup, that sounded like mom… "They then got married and soon after had you…

"Allia…" Carlisle began. "Do you… know what happened to your parents…?" He looked concerned, almost frightful about asking. "I visited your home around 1907 and you all weren't there."

"My mother died trying to protect me from an attacking coven of vampires when we went traveling, but before last night… I didn't know what happened to my father." I started. "I had a dream that was more of a flashback and I saw it all. My father went riding over to Volterra on horse and met with someone named Aro." I didn't notice, but Carlisle stiffened considerably. "There was… something about a deal. They wanted me and my father went with them as a sort of substitute. They changed him into a vampire. They're called the Volturi."

"I see," Carlisle mumbled, his voice barely audible.

"Do you know who they are—the Volturi, I mean?

"Yes…" He said gravely. "They're a very powerful coven of vampires. If you will, they're sort of the leaders. They enforce the rules and keep our species a secret from humans."

"Carlisle, do you think that I could possibly get my father back?" I asked. "Vampire or not, he's still my father."

"No… no, it's far too risky. It would be completely suicidal to try and rescue him."

I stayed silent, and gave a slow nod. "Thank you for telling me all this, Carlisle." I said. "It means a lot to me."

He nodded. "Sure, Allia. Come over to my home whenever you'd like. I'd love to talk more about your family and how you're doing."

"Okay, goodbye Carlisle,"

"Goodbye, Allia."

I walked out of the office and headed down the white corridor, my footsteps echoing softly.

It seemed as if I had another thing to add to my to-do list.

Right under "Kill Devin", would be "Destroy the Volturi".

It was a damn good thing I had the mind of a suicidal maniac sometimes.


	7. Lifetime

I was on the roof, sitting upon the many scattered shingles, simply staring out at the trees and the cloudless blue sky. Today was really a good day to be out, but if there was one thing I had learned these past few days living in La Push, it was that the weather could change in an instant, and so I made it priority to enjoy the wonderful time whenever I could.

"Ali!"

My eyebrows rose with interest as I wondered who it could possibly be. I looked down and saw Embry standing below looking up at me, his hands above his eyes to act as a sort of visor since the sun was shinning brightly. I smiled and stood up, slowly and carefully walking towards the edge of the roof and jumping down to meet him.

"Yea, Embry?" I asked.

He smiled. "You wanna hang out with us?"

"Depends," I shrugged. "Who is 'us'?"

"Just the guys, but no Sam. He can be a fun sucker sometimes." He answered. "It'll be fun."

"Paul, will be there?"

He nodded. "Yea, but he's been pretty lovey-dovey with everyone lately because of Rachel, so I'm pretty sure that he won't be throwing some big F-bombs your way or something."

After a one second debate, I said my answer. "Sure, sounds fun."

He grinned and motioned for me to follow after him and I did so as we walked into the woods. "We're gonna shift and head over to Jake's house. Billy's out with his friend, Charlie, and so we have it to ourselves."

"Alright," I nodded and went a bit farther from Embry, stripping down into nothing and tying the clothes to the string as usual.

-{}-

Embry led the way up the few porch stairs and walked on in, I followed suit and closed the door behind me. I walked with Embry into a room on the side and found it to be the kitchen. There was white tile with small smudges and stains that had faded, dark oak cabinets, with a white stove to the side, a few areas rusty and dirty. In the middle of the room was a large round table where all the guys sat at.

"Finally, you guys made it," Jared sighed out in annoyance. "What the hell took so damn long?"

"Nothing, you're just impatient." I replied and sat at one of the empty seats next to Seth. "Where's Leah?"

"She doesn't come to these things. She thinks she's too cool or some shit like that." Paul answered, somewhat surprising me that he wasn't being an ass with me for once. "She thinks we're immature."

"Yea, I mean, come on, we're the most mature people ever." Jared stated, Paul simply nodding in agreement. "_Eveerr._" He held the last syllable for at least a good 5 seconds.

_Way to prove it,_I thought sarcastically, though I did end up laughing softly at it.

Embry finally sat down and placed a few cases of beer onto the table.

The guys cheered and I smiled and laughed to myself at their enthusiasm for the alcoholic drink. There were footsteps coming and I turned and saw Jacob coming into the kitchen, taking the seat next to me because there were no more available elsewhere.

"Okay, so who's up for some truth or dare?" Seth suggested.

"That's such a girl's game!" Embry whined. I glowered at him and he smiled sheepishly. "No offense, Ali."

"No, no, no, no, wait…" Paul held up his hands. "This could be fun…"

Quil looked at him in confusion. "How?"

"Uh, hello dipshit, beers are right in front of us." He said, and Quil glared at him cruelly. "We'll take a drink when it's our turn and in a little while it'll get pretty interesting." He smirked.

"Reece, that's stupid. I'm in the mood to wrestle." Jacob said.

"Well sorry Blackie-chan, let's put it to a vote." Paul retorted. "All in favor of not wrestling say aye." Everyone besides Jake said aye and Paul smirked. "The ayes have it."

Jacob grumbled, but finally agreed to play the game. We each got a bottle of beer and uncapped the metal top.

"Who goes first?" Seth asked.

"Good question," Paul muttered.

"Hurry up Reese's Pieces, we haven't got all day." Jake taunted.

"Shut up, Black!" He yelled. "Whoever drinks their beer the fastest gets to choose who their victim will be." We all gave a slight nod in agreement to show we understood and were ready. "Now."

All of our beer glasses went up to our lips as we began to quickly drink the bitter liquid. This is where I put my years of experience with beer to use and I was the first one to slam my bottle back down onto the table, Jacob soon finishing after along with the rest of the guys. They all just stared wide-eyed at my bottle.

"You did _not_finish first…!" Quil yelled.

"Yea I did, don't be a sore loser, Quil."

Paul grabbed my bottle from across the table and examined the dark brown bottle, making sure I didn't cheat. "Holy shit…" He started. "You sucked this damn thing _dry_!" He shouted.

"You're all a bunch of sexist bastards for thinking that I would be easy to beat because I'm a girl." I muttered.

"No we didn't," Embry retorted. I looked at him with no readable emotion on my face, and he smiled sheepishly. "Maybe just a little…"

"Well, whatever," I shrugged and looked around so I could decide who to choose first. "Seth, truth or dare?"

He was handed another beer and took a quick swig of it. "Truth,"

"Chicken," Paul muttered.

Jared and Quil began to make chicken sounds while flapping their nonexistent wings and the table burst out laughing.

"How far have you gone with a girl?" I asked.

"A little past second base." He replied.

Seth looked around and smiled. "Embry truth or dare?"

Embry was handed a new beer bottle and took a drink. "Dare,"

Paul and Jared clapped and shouted with smiles.

"Make it good, Seth," Paul snickered.

"Strip down into your underwear and sit in Allia's lap."

Jared shrugged. "Not _too_bad, I guess," He mumbled.

Embry took off his shirt first, revealing a fit upper torso. Next he took off his belt and threw it onto the floor, his shorts soon falling down to reveal black boxer-briefs. He then sauntered over to me and Jacob and Seth pulled out my chair, seeing as I sure as hell wasn't going to do it, and he sat his butt down onto my lap.

_Awkward…_

"Allia, truth or dare?" Embry said, giggling like a girl on crack.

Jacob handed me a new beer and I took a drink. "Dare,"

"I dare you to work your _magic_ on Paul," He said. "Light his _fire_." He gave a very suggestive wink, but I knew very well what he meant.

I pushed Embry off with a smirk and walked over to Paul, swaying my hips in a seductive manner as I tried to make it convincing. I sat down on the table and rested my left arm on his shoulder while my right hand ran through his hair. As my hand ran through his thick black hair, small embers sparked and lit the top of his head on fire. I made it so he wouldn't feel pain—for obvious reasons, and the boys all began to snicker, while Jacob completely freaked out because he didn't know that I could do that.

"Whoa, what the hell!" Jacob yelled.

"Jealous, Jake?" Paul snickered.

I let the fire spread down and it soon engulfed his shirt. His eyes widened and he screamed… like a pansy, I might add. He jumped up from his seat and actually managed to bang his head on the ceiling. He rubbed his head and when he looked at his hand it was aflame. He ran out the door as the fire spread to his pants.

All of us raced outside, following the poor boy and saw him now rolling like crazy on the floor.

All the guys and I were laughing, with the exception of Jacob because he thought it all was real. Finally, I realized enough was enough and I let the flames extinguish themselves. His clothes were still intact, however, they smelled _charred_—like they had been burnt to a crisp. If I hadn't known better, I'd have suspected that someone was burning paper.

Jacob helped Paul up to his feet and helped dust him off. Paul was breathing in deeply, his hands balled into fists.

"What the _fuck_ was _that_?" He bellowed.

"My dare," Embry yelled out through his laughter.

Paul growled and then pummeled Embry into the ground, attempting to punch him with his fists of fury. We all separated the two of them, and held them off of each other.

"What the fuck, what kind of a dare is that?"

"You're one to talk!" Embry shouted. "You're the one who's always pulling the most retarded stunts and you get pissed off when someone _else_does it?"

"Guys, guys, guys," Seth stepped between the two of them, hoping to be the peacemaker in this heated argument. "Listen, let's just go back inside and carry on with the game."

It was dead silent for a few seconds and Paul grumbled angrily before stomping back into the house. All of us looked at each other and soon followed his example, though we left out the attitude.

We all sat back down at the table and it was silent for a minute. "Choose, Allia." Embry said, and sat back down onto my lap, still only in his boxer-briefs.

"Embry, truth or dare,"

He took a swig of the alcohol and looked at me. "Dare."

"I dare you to get the hell off of my lap, get dressed and sit down in your seat."

He smirked and did as he was told, murmuring. "You're going to miss it."

"Not likely." I smiled.

He sighed as he sat down in his chair, finally dismissing the matter. "Jacob, truth or dare?"

"Truth," he said after taking a sip.

"Pussy!" Jared yelled.

"Shut up, idiot," Jacob mumbled.

Embry's eyes flashed over to me and then back to him quickly. "Would you rather date Allia or Paul as a tranny? I think Paul can pull of heels, _plus_he has great bone structure."

Everyone burst out laughing and Paul was growling and slightly trembling in anger.

Jacob laughed a bit, but softly—it was barely audible, but I had heard it. "Allia," He said, and my heart lifted a bit, butterflies slowly zipping around in my stomach. "But, of course I'd prefer Renesmee."

The game carried on and I'd been chosen a few times. I'd gone through a few bottles and was now becoming incredibly intoxicated, my mind blurring up a bit.

"Allia, truth or dare?" Seth slurred, the boy was truly a lightweight.

I took a drink, my lips staying connected to the bottle longer than before because my muscles were slowly becoming non-responsive, and finally brought it down to the table. "Dare,"

"I dare you to kiss Jacob on the lips." He laughed and took another sip.

It became quiet, and even though he was clearly drunk, Jacob stood up from the table, the chair screeching away from his legs, and he went wide-eyed.

"What?—No!" He barked.

Not really caring and not wanting to back down from the dare, I shook my head and grabbed Jacob's arm, holding it tightly in my grasp. "Sit down, shut your mouth and pucker up." I said and yanked him down, my lips meeting his for a mere five seconds, perhaps less…

But they were the best five seconds of my _life_…

His lips against mine caused shivers to go throughout my body, goose bumps crawled upon my skin, and a rush of electricity went from my head to my toes and back up again. The alcohol in my system amplified the feelings and made it so much better. For as long as our lips were meshed together, I felt like I knew everything about him. I could hear his lovable and simple laugh in my mind; I could feel every inch of his soft skin—it's warmth sending tingles throughout every inch of mine; I could see those deep, brown pools of his that seemed to glow uncannily with emotion.

I could feel how _right_this was…

He grabbed me by the shoulders, pulled our lips away from each other, and our eyes met. He gazed down at me in uncertainty, confusion on his face. It made me wonder what could be racing throughout his mind.

He growled lowly and turned to the rest of the table. "Everyone out!" He barked furiously, flailing his arms around. "Get the fuck out!"

Everyone got up and headed out the door, and Jacob slammed it as soon as we did, the whole side of the house slightly shaking, causing a few shingles to fall from the roof.

"C'mon," Embry started. "I'll walk you home."

His arm wrapped around my shoulders and the two of us began to walk down the dirt road together. It was a quiet walk, not because we didn't know what to say or anything like that, it was because we were just too damn tired to try.

Finally I had gathered enough energy to move my lips. "Hey, thanks for the thing you did,"

"What're you talking about…?" He murmured, stifling a yawn at the end.

"That question you asked Jacob about who he'd rather date." I laughed. "Even though it was a bit obvious… it still meant something." I smiled and looked over at Embry who was smiling back down at me.

"No problem…" He said. "But seriously though, can't you just see Paul in a knee-high dress with sequins all over it…?"

"I think hot pink is his color," I commented.

"No, I see him more as a fuchsia." He winked and we both laughed.

"Maybe with a bit of lip gloss or ruby red lipstick,"

"Not to mention a bit of concealer," He said, and changed his voice to sound high pitched and British. "That poor boy has a _terrible_ complexion, absolutely _dreadful_."

"He can get a pedicure and we can make them put flowers on his big toe."

"And maybe a tramp stamp that says 'Enter Here' with an arrow pointing down,"

Embry and I burst out laughing, gripping our sides and trying to continue walking straight.

We continued to make comments and imagine Paul's more feminine side until we got home to Sam and Emily's.

"So…" Embry started.

"So what…?"

"How was it?"

"What do you mean?"

He rolled his eyes and playfully bonked me on the top of my head. "The kiss smart one," He said. "With Jacob?"

"Amazing," I smiled, but shook my head, making it disappear like an Etch-a-Sketch. "But it's not going to happen again so, I can't get my hopes up."

"Lee, you gotta stop thinking like that. It'll kill you… literally." He said and pulled me into a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, goodnight Embry,"

"G'night Ali," He smiled. "We'll gossip more about this later, chickita," He winked at me and made his voice sound a bit like a gay man's.

I laughed and walked inside the house, heading upstairs into my room. This had been a surprisingly good day, even if some things may not happen again…

At least I could always look back on today and think about the kiss with Jacob Black, the kiss that would last a lifetime…


	8. I Want to Escape

_Thunder roared throughout the valley. The skies were black and gray, the purple lightning streaking across it ever so quickly, with the usual boom chasing after it. The rain was like a blanket as it fell, large droplets of water hit everything in its path, hard and relentless._

_I was bleeding heavily from a wound on my right arm, a gunshot wound. Poachers from earlier decided that they wanted big game, and so once they got a glimpse of me, they took the first shot they could._

_My white and chestnut brown coat was stringy and my paws were covered in mud. I limped as fast as I could through the small number of trees till I couldn't go any further, and simply collapsed onto the slippery earth._

_The rain continued to pound me into the ground and I saw a small area that was covered by tree branches, making it my safe haven. I crawled and dragged myself towards it, and was soon away from the rainfall, only a small number of droplets hitting my fur occasionally._

So tired… _I felt myself slowly drift away from reality. _I hope that this rain will stop soon…

_And before I knew it, I had dozed off…_

_I was warm, and felt a soft sort of fabric on my body, not my usual fuzzy coat of fur._

_"Mutter, wenn Sie denken sie weckt?" A young and soft voice questioned in a foreign tongue._

_"Ich habe keine Ahnung, Elizabeth." An older feminine voice replied._

_I coughed loudly, causing my throat to itch and burn. I guessed that my being out last night in the cold and wet weather really got to me._

_"Hallo, sind Sie in Ordnung?" The older voice questioned._

_Was she talking to me…?_

_"Mi dispiace, ma stai parlando con me...?"_

_(_I am sorry, are you talking to me…?_) I asked in my native language of Italian._

_"Mutter ist die italienische?" The young voice inquired._

_"Ja, ich glaube so."_

_I moved my arms and rubbed my eyes, soon they opened and I looked around at my surroundings. I was in a home. A fireplace was crackling on the opposite side of the room, the floor was made from wood and a dark orange rug covered a small area of it. There were two wooden chairs and one large sofa, which I was currently laying on._

_Two women sat in front of me on the floor and I looked them over. The older looking one seemed to be in her 40's. She had blond hair that was pulled back in a tight bun, blue eyes that showed concern, and a sky blue dress with white lace for her attire. Her skin was fair and very light, a few wrinkles apparent on her face. The younger was a girl who seemed to be around my age—seventeen-years-old—and had a sense of pure innocence and kindness around her. She had long, straight brown hair, with deep brown orbs for eyes. She wore a white frilly dress and had black and muddy boots on her feet. Her skin was porcelain and if she didn't smell human, I would've sworn that she was a leech._

_The younger girl cleared her throat and looked like she was trying to remember a few things. "Tu sei italiano ...?"_

_(_You are Italian…?_) She asked._

_"Sì, lo sono. Dove sono?"_

_(_Yes, I am. Where am I?_)_

_"A casa della mia famiglia. Noi viviamo a Magdeburgo, in Germania."_

_(_At my family's home. We live in Magdeburg, Germany._) She explained. "Mia madre e ti ho trovato nudo nella foresta e vi ha portato qui. Abbiamo curato la ferita." (_My mother and I found you nude in the forest and brought you here. We treated your wound._)_

_My eyes traveled to my arm and found a sort of bandage wrapped around it. "Grazie per averlo fatto. Significa molto per me. Come posso pagare?"_

_(_Thank you for doing that. It means a lot to me. How can I repay you?_)_

_"Mutter, sie ist zu fragen, wie sie uns zurückzuzahlen." She said to her mother._

_Her mother smiled and looked over at her. "Sie müssen bei uns bleiben, bis sie voll ist wieder gut."_

_The girl smiled and then looked at me happily. "Si deve stare con noi finché non si è di nuovo bene."_

_(_You must stay with us until you are well again._)_

_I smiled. "Sei sicuro?"_

_(_You are sure?_)_

_She nodded and my smile grew. "Il mio nome è Elisabetta Unschuld, e questa è la mia mamma, Heike Unschuld."_

_(_My name is Elizabeth Unschuld, and this is my mother, Heike Unschuld._)_

_"E 'bello incontrare tutti e due. Il mio nome è Allia Accalia."_

_(_It is nice to meet you both. My name is Allia Accalia._)_

My eyes opened and I stared at the ceiling. I felt tears prick at my eyes, a lump forming in my throat, somewhat choking me, starving me of the air I needed to function properly. I gave in and let the first tear roll, it cascading slowly down and soon falling from my chin onto the blankets below. The lump disappeared and I was able to breathe again and collect myself.

I looked at the moon and sighed. "I miss you, Liz." I whispered.

Elizabeth Unschuld was my very first, best friend. She was the one who kept me sane. She was the one who kept me happy.

_"Allia, do you want to come with me to the stream?" Liz asked in German._

_I was getting good at the language because she had been teaching me how to speak it; it was something that I was thankful for because I was tired of her having to act as a translator between Heike, her father, Gustav, and me._

_"Yes, I'd like that." I replied in the language._

_"That was very good," She laughed and smiled happily at my accomplishment. "You are getting better at this, Allia. Come on, let's go before it gets any later."_

_We walked through the small town of Magdeburg, and towards the more rural area, where few cottages were until we came to a stream that was crystal clear with small pebbles and rocks at the bottom, every now and then a small fish would pass on by._

_"Allia, Elizabeth," a voice called, and we both turned to see Devin Verletzend coming towards us with a smile. "How are you both today?" He inquired._

_"Good," Liz replied with a shrug as she crouched down and began to put a few fingers into the stream, watching the ripples being carried away by the current._

_"Alright," I shrugged. "What about you?"_

_"Everything is good, too." He answered. "Allia… would you… like to go out with me tonight?" He asked hesitantly._

_"Oh, I would, Devin, but Liz and I were going to just stay home and relax."_

_"But… but you did that yesterday, and the day before that…!" He yelled._

_"I'm sorry, Devin, but… maybe another time."_

_Devin grumbled and began to walk away murmuring certain things under his breath. "She's gonna get it," was one thing in particular that caught my attention._

_I just hoped he wouldn't do something stupid and reckless…_

_Weeks passed and all was well with life._

_After eating dinner one night, and Heike and Gustav went to bed, Liz and I were in her room, rolling and squirming about in our beds, restless._

_"I can't go to sleep, Allia," Liz murmured._

_"Me either, Liz," I replied._

_She sat in bed and grabbed her black boots, tying the laces and walking over to her closet, putting on her brown coat over her white nightgown. "C'mon," She said. "Let's go to the stream."_

_"At this hour?—What if someone catches us?"_

_"I'll tell them it was my idea and you had nothing to do with it." She said. "Besides, it's only for a little while."_

_I sighed. "Alright,"_

_I gave in and got up, putting on my own coat and shoes as well, and walking silently with her out the door and down the street. The moon lit our path and soon we arrived at the small rushing water._

_Liz sighed contently, sat down, and took her boots off, letting her bare feet reside in the water that sparkled with light from the moon. I sat beside her, though I decided to keep my boots on, and simply watched the moon from below._

_"I love this," Liz said. "I love how peaceful this feels. It makes me forget things."_

_"Forget what?"_

_"Just my troubles, that's all." She answered._

_"Liz, what troubles you?" I asked. "Why didn't you tell me something was wrong?"_

_"I know this will sound weird, but… nothing is wrong, but at the same time it is."_

_"What is it?"_

_"A week or so before you came here my family and I got a telegram from the government—from the war department. My brother went off a few months prior to fight in the world war; he was sure he'd make it out alive and come back a national hero." She chuckled at the thought. "The telegram told us that he had died in an ambush. His entire section had also."_

_"I'm so sorry, Liz… I know how it feels to lose someone, too." I said._

_She nodded as tears gathered in her brown eyes. "My brother was everything to me. He kept me safe, took care of me and made me feel like I was important." She explained. "I always thought I was no one special, that I was simply a waste of space, and he told me otherwise. He gave me a reason to keep living and to smile." She wiped a few of the falling tears and I pulled her into a hug. "When I found out he died… I wanted to kill myself. Then you came along and we became friends and… I had my reason again." She smiled. "You're my best friend, Allia."_

_"You're mine, too, Liz." I said and hugged her tightly. There was a soothing silence for a few minutes and I knew that Liz was calming down again. "You remind me of the moon," I decided._

_"Why?" She looked at me funny. "Am I fat and round?" She joked._

_"No, but… you're really innocent looking, pure even… and yet you have this completely other side to you that's filled with worry, doubt and loneliness, they're almost like scars."_

_"I guess…" she shrugged. "I never really thought about it that much…"_

_There was a rustling in the bushes and we could see a lantern in the distance. "Who's there…?" An old man's voice called._

_Liz grabbed her boots and I helped her up, soon we were both darting out of sight and into the small patch of woods that was giving us a place to hide._

_"That was close," I sighed._

_"Yes, too close actually." She began to put her boots on and soon looked at me. "C'mon, let's go the long way home."_

_We both walked through the trees and took our time doing so, not wanting to stir the sleeping wildlife around us. We walked for a good 10 minutes before I stopped Elizabeth._

_"Are we lost…?" I asked._

_"No, it just takes a while to get home this way. I remember where I'm going, don't worry." She smiled._

_There were footsteps in the distance and Liz and I stiffened up. Was someone following us…?_

_We began to run away from the person and hid behind a large tree._

_"Allia, Elizabeth, what are you doing out here…?"_

That voice is familiar,_ I thought._

_I poked my head out and saw Devin standing there with his hands on his hips, acting high and mighty as he smirked at me._

_"Devin…" I muttered. "I could be asking you the same question."_

_The stench of leech hit me like a brick wall, and I stopped myself from growling aloud. I couldn't shift in front of Liz and Devin, I'd put them in danger._

_"Devin did you follow us?" Liz asked._

_"No, I was taking a walk when I saw you both wandering around."_

_"How could you see us walking?" I questioned. "You have to go at least thirty feet to get out of the woods."_

_"Always with the details," He muttered._

_"Let's just get home, its dangerous here at night." I said, hoping to get them to both leave so we wouldn't have to have a run-in with a bloodsucker._

_"Tell me about it," Devin said. "There are monsters around these parts."_

_"What?—You're crazy, Devin." Liz said._

_"No, seriously. There's one around here right now, actually." He said. "Did you both hear about that girl, Maria? She went missing and was found a few days later, she was drained of her blood."_

_"Don't scare us, Devin!" Liz yelled, coming closer towards me for security._

_He laughed. "But it's true, Liz. I wouldn't make this stuff up." He smiled wickedly and ran a hand through his black hair. " I know who did it, too." He said. "It was me."_

_"Devin, shut up!" Liz yelled._

_"You want to know why I did it? I was hungry and she smelled so… sweet." His eyes flashed red and I pushed Liz back away from Devin and I. "Just like you, Elizabeth."_

_"Run home, Liz! Now!" I yelled._

_Why hadn't I noticed it sooner…?_

_Devin smirked and laughed, his fangs visible as his mouth widened. "What's the point?"_

_He took a step forward and I shifted, bursting out of my skin and clothes instantly into my fur. Elizabeth screamed, but I had no time to look back at her. I went for Devin's throat and he evaded my attack, sprinting towards Liz._

_He grabbed her by her throat and hoisted her up into the air, suffocating her. She squirmed in his grasp and began to cough violently._

_I pummeled him into the ground and he threw her to the side, she hit a nearby tree with force great enough to make an indent in the bark. I snapped at him and he dodged every move I made. It was infuriating…!_

_I lifted my paw and swiped at him, he used his hand and his fingernails cut my paw. I bit at him and he wasn't able to get away fast enough that time. I caught his arm in my mouth and began to break it between my sharp teeth._

_He screamed in pain and used his free hand to get me off of him. He ran back a few feet and grimaced, looking at his mauled arm. "You damn animal!" He screamed._

_He ran off and I went back to Elizabeth, hoping she was fine._

_Her eyes were droopy and dull, her skin was paler than usual, and she looked broken. I shifted back, not caring that I was nude and walked over to her. I saw that my hand was sliced thanks to Devin's fingernails and cursed him mentally._

_I saw her in the distance and broke out into a sprint as I went to her. "Liz, Liz answer me," I started. "Elizabeth talk to me…!"_

_Her eyes slowly went from the ground to me and I saw tears slipping out of them. "Allia, what's going to happen to me…?" She questioned softly. "Am I going to die?"_

_I stayed silent. I didn't know what was going to happen to her… "I'm not sure,"_

_"I think I am… going to die." She said. "Allia, thank you…"_

_"For what?" I asked, shocked that she would be thanking me when I was possibly the reason for her dying._

_"You tried to protect me from him," She smiled. "Thank you for that."_

_"If it weren't for me I wouldn't have had to protect you at all, and you would be fine."_

_"Don't say that, I'm happy I met you…"_

_"I am too…"_

_"Allia, please… take me home."_

_"Sure…" I nodded as tears left my eyes._

_I picked her up in my arms and began to carry her back home. I was thankful that it was exceptionally early in the morning; I didn't have to be concerned with anyone seeing me in the nude as I carried her home._

_I soon reached the house and walked up the stairs. I set her in her bed and covered her up._

_"Goodbye, Elizabeth…" I whispered, my voice cracking._

_"Goodbye Allia… and thank you, for everything."_

_I heard her heart stop and the tears began to roll down my cheeks once again. I raced out of the house and into the woods, shifting instantly and racing towards the place where it had all taken place. As soon as I caught wind of his odor, I went speeding off after him._

_I was going to catch Devin._

_I was going to catch him and kill him._

_I would make him pay for what he had done to Elizabeth…_

I ran a hand over my palm, over the exact spot where Devin had cut me, and it stung. I sighed and looked back at the moon.

"Innocent on one side, but dark on the other…" I mumbled.

There was a howl and I looked out my window towards the forest and saw Jacob running into the house with his shorts on. I heard him bounding down the hallway and he began to bang on Sam's door.

"Sam, it's Jake!" He yelled.

Sam opened the door and there was whispering between the two of them. "Go wake Allia," He ordered.

Jacob ran to my room and opened it up. Our eyes connected and he began to talk to me. "C'mon, that leech is here," He said hurriedly.

I nodded and got out of bed, following Jake as he ran out of the house. We shifted and began to run in the direction everyone was headed, and soon found Paul and Jared chasing Devin down.

He stopped running and we all stopped as well.

"I see you've made some more pals, Allia," He spoke casually. "But you should know by now that everyone you become friends with dies."

I growled and began to slowly advance on him. A black wolf, Sam, nudged me and I stopped, not wanting to go against him.

"Before I came, I decided to go back to Magdeburg. I came back and guess what I have with me…" He reached into his pocket, pulling out a picture and throwing it to our feet—my feet. "Isn't that just a pretty picture of you and Elizabeth…?"

It was taken a few days before she had died. It was her and I together. I wore fine clothes for the picture and so did Elizabeth. She was seated in a chair before me and I stood in back of her, both of our hair in braids.

"C'mon Allia, let's finish this, just you and me." He said, and then he turned to the others. "You may take your leave."

Suddenly the others were fading, their large figures beginning to become transparent until they were gone. I growled and began to advance.

"Don't worry, I only sent them to their homes. There's no need for them to be involved in this any longer."

I began to sprint at him and he began to run like the coward he was. We stopped running near the border and that was where we began to fight.

He turned on his heel and backhanded me, making me slam into a tree with brutal force. I shook it off and ran at him again and was able to bit at his arm that once again went for me. I began to shake it around like a chew toy and threw him into tress as I did so. I shoved him into a stream nearby and he got up with a hiss. He ran at me and began to scratch me with his nails, my fur becoming bloody.

I snapped at him and almost caught his throat.

I jumped on him and began to gnaw at his chest. He shoved me off him and I noticed how bloody he was.

He growled. "I'm afraid I'll take my leave now. I've got to heal and give myself plenty of food before I come back here." He said. "But here's… a parting gift."

He ran at me and clawed at my face and neck, in the end tearing my jugular open.

Within minutes of him being gone, I was on floor, loosing consciousness from too much blood loss.

_Am I going to die, Elizabeth…?_ I thought to myself. _Am I going to see you again…?_

I shifted back into human form and closed my eyes.

"I hope so…" I murmured. "I want to escape…"


	9. Wasn't Him

"Carlisle, will she be alright…?"A familiar voice rang out.

I thought about it and I knew it was him. _Embry…_

"I'm not sure, there's a chance, but it's too early to tell." He sighed out, obviously aggravated and tired. "I'm thankful we were able to stop the bleeding, however."

"She was right, Devin's tricky." Sam said, irritated that he admitted I was right. Possibly more irritated at the fact he wouldn't be a quickie to kill like the other vampires that would pass through La Push.

"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch for what he did to her." Embry growled lowly.

"Calm down, dude," Quil told his friend. "I'm sure she'll make it. When she's better we'll all go after that damn asswipe."

"Yea, so save your energy for later." Jared added.

I shakily used my arms and began to prop myself on them, my eyes slowly opening to see _most_of the pack—Jacob being the only one absent—and Carlisle standing there in a circle, still conversing.

Embry looked over, saw me and smiled. "Allia!" He shouted with enthusiasm.

Carlisle quickly turned and saw me as I tried to sit up straight. "No, no, no, Allia, don't move." He urged quickly, and stopped me from moving any further. He placed me sitting upright himself and I thanked him quietly. "You're far too weak to do any sort of activity right now."

I looked down and noticed I was wearing clothes. "Who changed me…?" I asked softly.

He gave a weak smile. "Alice did as I was stopping the bleeding." He explained.

"Thank you," I uttered, finally realizing that he was right when even talking was a challenge for me to overcome. "Can you explain what happened…?"

Carlisle nodded and began to tell his side of the story. "Alice and I were hunting when we heard a sort of commotion in the distance. We heard a hiss and heard you growling, and so we went towards you to find out what was happening. We suddenly smelt blood and when we got there we found you lying on the ground unconscious, your jugular was ripped open. We quickly brought you here and I began to treat you. Thankfully we were able to stop the bleeding before you completely bled out, but it was definitely a close call." He pointed towards a stack of empty plastic bags and I recognized the strong smell. "I've been giving you blood transfusions to get your levels back to normal and I believe they're working."

"Thank you Carlisle," Sam said. "for saving her."

"I was glad to help." He responded and put a hand onto my shoulder. "If you need anything, please don't be hesitant to ask."

"Sure thing, Carlisle," I nodded.

He gave a quick, reassuring smile as if to say that I had nothing to worry about, and walked out of the room, leaving me alone with the pack.

"So how are you feeling, Ali?" Embry questioned, walking over to me quickly and putting a warm hand on my shoulder.

"Crappy, but it could be worse so, I'm not complaining."

"What happened, Allia?" Sam question.

"Well, after he used his ability on you, he ran and I chased after him. We got to the border and we got into it. I was able to maul his arm, but he ran at me and cut me up. I blacked out a few seconds later, and that's all I know." I explained. "Where did he transport you all to? He said he transported you home, but—"

Paul scoffed. "Yea right, that damned leech sent us to the Canadian border." He growled. "Well, all except Seth." He said.

"Hey, where did he send you anyways, Seth?" Jared asked.

He grumbled lowly, obviously mad, but soon gave a reply. "The dog store…"

Everyone burst out with a booming laughter, though I tried not to. I didn't want to do anything that might hurt my throat. Sure enough, even with a few light chuckles, there was a slight searing pain in my esophagus, like someone was giving me small paper cuts everywhere. I coughed and Embry began to pat my back softly.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yea, I'm fine," I responded, and gave a small reassuring smile.

"We're going to head back to the reservation now." Sam declared. "We'll try and find that bloodsucker, see if he left a trail. Jacob will stay here and when you can leave he'll bring you back."

"Alright," I nodded. "Good luck."

They all walked out, but Embry remained with me. He smiled and reached inside his pocket, pulling out a small folded piece of shiny paper. "Here," He grabbed my hand, placed it into my palm, and closed fingers over it. "I thought you would want this."

He made a mad dash out of the room and I heard the front door slam shut downstairs. I opened it up and saw the picture of Elizabeth and me, most of the mud and dirt gone except for a few stains. My lips curved upwards and I looked out a window seeing the familiar gray wolf with black spots sitting pretty on the dirt floor.

"Thank you, Embry!" I shouted, and smiled down at the friendly animal.

He replied with a wolfish grin and a long and pleased howl before racing into the woods, following the pack.

I relaxed back into the sheets and pillows on the bed, soon falling asleep, grasping the picture tightly within my grasp, holding it to my chest with a deep urgency…

-{}-

"Allia, time to wake up."

I woke to see a pale faced Carlisle hovering above me with one of his delightful and caring smiles.

"Hey, Carlisle…" I mumbled, still groggy and getting my senses to fully awaken.

"Hello, Allia, how was your nap?"

"Great," I yawned out, looking over at the doctor. "I feel much better."

"That's good," He nodded. "I'm going to take your vitals, see how you're doing, alright?"  
>I nodded and sat up in bed. He then got out his needed supplies and checked my temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate.<p>

He gave a pleased sigh. "Everything is normal, you're completely fine." He stated. "You can leave whenever you'd like, Jacob is just putting little Renesmee to rest in her room. I'll have him come up here to help you downstairs."

He walked out of the room and I slowly began to pull myself out of the comfortable bed, which I most definitely did not want to do. I pushed the blankets off of me and then shoved myself from the bed and onto the floor. Grabbing the sheets and blankets, I began to make the bed, not wanting to leave it alone for them to do themselves.

"Hey, need help?" I turned to see Jacob in the door frame, leaning up against it comfortably.

"Please…?" I gave a weak smile and he nodded as he walked over to my side.

The two of us began to flatten out the blankets neatly on the bed and fluffed the pillows. I was taking my time, wanting to stay here with him as long as possible.

We finished a few minutes later and soon we were walking down the hallway.

"Jacob…?" A quiet voice whispered.

We both turned to see a small girl who stood in the doorway, looking lonely and vulnerable. She had dazzling green eyes with specs of hazel mixed in, fair, light skin, and long, straight chestnut brown hair.

I realized it was Renesmee…

I realized it was my so-called "competition"…

"Renesmee, you're supposed to be asleep," He cooed softly, smiling down at the girl with an emotion in his eyes that he had never shown me before—love.

I grew jealous. I grew lonely. Most importantly, I grew to realize that my feelings towards him were, in fact, all for not. I would never be able to compare to this young girl. Not in his mind, at least…

"C'mon," He said with a grunt as he picked her up, kissing her cheek lovingly. "I'll put you back to bed." He walked towards her door and stopped, looking back at me. "You can wait for me in the car; I'll only be a few minutes."

"Alright, take your time." I said, pushing the last few words out with force.

I walked downstairs and said my goodbyes to everyone before heading outside. It was warm inside the house—perhaps a bit too warm, and so as the chilled air grazed my body gently, I felt relaxed. The pine smell greeted me and it was like I was breathing for the first time, it had never smelled so sweet before.

After taking in the ambiance, I walked over to Jacob's Rabbit, getting into the passenger seat and waiting patiently.

Ten minutes passed, twenty minutes had passed, thirty minutes had passed… soon a complete hour had gone by.

_Why am I still sitting here like a pathetic loser…?_ I questioned myself. _No matter how much you want him to, no matter how much time you give him, you know that he won't come out—not for you. Not when Renesmee's involved._

Sighing, I got out of the car and walked towards the woods. I heard their laughter and I walked faster. My heart was slowly breaking…

_You don't need an imprint. You don't need Jacob Black._ I told myself repeatedly. _Being alone isn't as bad as they say…_

-{}-

The surroundings seemed familiar now, and I knew I was back on the La Push reservation. I heard twigs snapping and leaves rustling, someone was coming.

There was a whine and I turned to see Embry's familiar coat of fur.

I smiled and walked over, meeting him halfway. "Hey Embry," I said, and petted his silky fur.

He nudged me in the side with his head and he walked away, most likely shifting. I found I was right as he walked out, wearing his usual denim shorts.

"What are you doing out here, Allia?" He asked. "It's late and way too dangerous in your condition."

"Well, Carlisle said I was fine." I shrugged, and crossed my arms across my chest, getting extremely cold. "Besides, I was going to head home right now."

"Jacob didn't bring you, did he…?"

"He forgot about me, but it's alright, I like to walk. It gives me time to think." I played it off as if it were nothing.

"Allia," He stared me down and saw through my lie. He pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back. "That idiot…" He mumbled. "I swear to God, he needs to get his priorities straight."

"They are straight, Embry. Renesmee's his imprint, so she'll always be first. I'm just not that important."

I felt his chest rumble as a low growl formed in his throat. "Don't say that, Lee, you're important." He retorted. "Jacob's too ignorant."

"Are you patrolling right now?" I asked.

"No, I just finished. I was heading back when I picked up your scent and I came to look for you."

"Oh, well, thank you." I hugged him tighter and we let go of each other. "Do you wanna just sit here? I don't feel like going back home right now…"

"Sure, just not for too long," He replied as we both sat down onto the ground, leaning up against a tree.

"Embry, do you want to know anything?" I inquired. "I know you have to be curious about what Devin said earlier."

"I am, but only if you want to talk about it. If you don't it's fine, I can understand."

"No, I wanna tell you." I said, and I got comfortable leaning into his chest. "It was during the first world war. My mom had died a few years before and I was officially alone in the world. One day I was shot by poachers and was able to get away. It started raining not too long after and I collapsed from exhaustion. I must've changed back because when I woke up I was in a home with new clothes. The people who had brought me there were named Heike and Elizabeth Unschuld. Heike was Elizabeth's mother and they told me to stay with them while I recuperated."

"That was nice of them," Embry commented.

"Yea, it was." I nodded. "So once I was better, I ended up not leaving. Elizabeth and I had gotten to know each other really well and were best friends. I rejected Devin one time and he left—he didn't come back for a few weeks. Elizabeth and I were in the woods and he showed up. I didn't realize it at the time, but Devin was a vampire, he had changed during his absence. We fought and during the fight, Elizabeth had gotten hurt. She died later that night after I brought her home." I sighed out shakily and tried to relax into Embry. "Sorry, I've never told anyone about this before."

"Consider me honored than," He joked, and pulled me into a hug. "Allia, you're like my little sister. Remember that you can always tell me anything and I promise not to let the others in on it if you don't want them to know."

"Thanks Embry, you're like my older brother," I laughed. "even if I am older than you. And the same goes for me, you can tell me anything."

"C'mon, my gut's just telling me that Sam's wondering where we are." Embry said, standing up and helping me up as well. "Let's go before they send out some sort of search party or something."

"Well, at least your gut can tell you something that isn't just about eating food." I mumbled, earning a fake gasp as Embry began to tousle my hair wildly. "You're so spastic!" I shouted through my laughter.

He scoffed, acting insulted. "You're only jealous." He said, walking in front of me, hips swaying.

"You're so weird…" I mumbled, rolling my eyes with a small smile.

I ran up to him and jumped on his back, catching him off guard. "Go!"

"I'm not a dog ready to be given orders!"

"That can be debated."

"Shut up, Ali!" He laughed out.

He grabbed my thighs to make sure I didn't fall off his back and began to walk forward, heading back home.

At least I knew I could always count on someone… even if that someone _wasn't him_.


	10. Only One

I awoke the next morning to someone hollering from the dining room. It was Sam. He was apparently lecturing Jacob about how irresponsible he had been staying with Renesmee and not giving me a ride home.

"Well she's fine, right?" Jacob barked back.

"That's not my point, Jacob, and you damn well know it!" Sam retaliated. "Devin is still out there and she was just injured! No matter how '_fine_' she is, we can't have someone walking alone after what he did to her!"

"Sam she has more experience with leeches than us—than you! She can take care of herself!"

"You're going to patrol all day today." Sam said, regaining his cool. "The guys will join you and the last will be Allia, when she comes, apologize to her for your behavior."

"I'm not going to apologize!" He yelled. "She was the one who walked off impatiently! And I'm not going to patrol either—I'm going over to see Renesmee!"

I could hear Sam growl viciously. "You _will_ go patrolling, Jacob, whether you _want_ to or _not_." He said. "And you _are_going to apologize to Allia."

Nothing else was heard.

Soon the screen door opened and slammed, sounding like it was due to break and come off the hinges at any second. I slowly crept out of bed, silently making my way to the window, and saw him storming into the wall of towering trees and shrubs, cursing everything—especially me.

_Why did I get stuck with him…?_

The door opened and Sam stood in the door frame, facing me with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry our fight woke you up, he just doesn't seem to get it sometimes." He murmured. "Since I know you heard, your patrolling shift will start at ten tonight and you and Jacob will finish at midnight. Make sure to tell Jacob that he has to be home by one and to not go over to the Cullens. Same goes for you, too, Allia. I don't want people staying out unnecessarily while Devin's around."

I nodded in understanding. "Alright. Thank you for saying that stuff on my behalf, Sam, but you didn't have to."

"I wanted to, just because he has an imprint and they take high priority in our minds, he still has to obey and do as he's told. What he did was irresponsible."

Sam left the room and I looked back out to see emptiness, Jacob was gone and only trees stood tall in my view.

I walked back over to my bed and the door opened and slammed again.

"Careful with the door!" Emily yelled in frustration.

"Sorry, Em!"

Embry came bursting through my door, a huge grin on his lips. "Allia, guess what!"

"What?" I asked, his energetic vibe making me smile.

"We're going down to First Beach, c'mon, it's going to be fun!"

"Alright, but I'm not getting in the water," I said. "I don't have a bathing suit."

"That's where you're wrong," Emily walked into my room and carried a plastic bag in her hands. "I saw it was going to be perfect beach weather and I realized that we hadn't bought you a bikini when you and I were in Port Angeles. So I went over there yesterday and bought you one myself." She smiled as she handed me the plastic bag. "I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will, thank you Emily," I returned the smile and gave her a long hug.

"Sure, tell me how the beach was when you get back."

I nodded and told her that I would, and she left without another word, Embry following her into the kitchen so he could pig out while he was here, and to also let me have my privacy.

I searched through my dresser for a nice outfit. I found a nice white sundress and put that onto the bed. I cut off all of the tags from the bikini and soon stripped out of my old clothes, throwing them into the dirty hamper, and put the bikini on. It actually fit pretty nicely. I put the sundress on and got the few wrinkles out of it before sitting down on my bed and getting my shoes on. I put some bangles on that Emily had gotten me out of the never-ending kindness of her heart, and decided that I was ready.

I headed out into the dining room and found Embry stuffing his face with Emily's many, made from scratch, blueberry muffins that were more than likely larger than the size of both of my hands.

"I shwear Emily, dis ish da besh bash you've eber made." He groaned through the heavenly food in his mouth.

She stared at him in confusion, one eyebrow raised higher than the other as she stopped everything she was doing in the kitchen. "What?"

He swallowed, took a long drink of milk from a large cup, which left Emily and I to look at each other and shrug our shoulders, not sure of what he had said earlier, and he looked at her. "I swear Emily, this is the best batch you've ever made." He clarified.

"Oh," She smiled and continued on with her cooking. "Thank you, Embry." She looked over at me and nodded in approval. "You look amazing, Allia, how's the bikini?"

"It fits me well, and I really like it. Thank you, Emily."

He looked over at me and gave a long whistle. "You're looking nice," He said and walked over to me. "Ready to go?"

"Yea, I'm ready," I nodded and took his hand. "Let's go."

-{}-

I took in everything about First Beach with this being my first time coming here. The salty air smelled soothing as I inhaled it. The sand that my feet came in contact with after I took my sandals off was soft and somewhat silky as it sifted through the spaces between each toe. The waves seemed to be whispering "shh" for everyone to be quiet as they crashed onto the beach noisily. The sun that was reflected off of the ocean water looked picturesque and I was truly glad that I came.

"This is amazing, Embry," I said.

"Yea, it's nice," He agreed. "Wanna go cliff diving?"

I stared at him. "Uh… If I don't die… sure," I nodded.

"Cool, it's this way," He said and began to take off up a steep hill.

I looked over and saw Leah sitting down on a log a few feet away, looking lonely.

_I'll catch up with Embry later,_I thought as I walked over to her.

I sat down on the log beside her and she didn't even acknowledge me.

"Hey Leah," I greeted casually.

She grunted and did nothing else, obviously wanting for me to go away.

However, I wasn't easily swayed. "Why aren't you with the rest of the guys?"

"They're idiots." She answered curtly. "Now what do you want?"

"I just wanted to say hello,"

"Well then you can leave now."

"It's nice weather today, huh?"

"It'd be better if you left me the hell alone."

"Leah… why are you so anti-social?"

"Because I can be, now just shut your mouth and go away."

"If you tell me why then I'll go away and I won't bother you for a while,"

She looked as if she was seriously contemplating my deal. "I was dating Sam a few years back, everything was perfect. Then when he became a wolf, and my cousin, Emily, came over, he imprinted on her. He left me and got with my cousin. Now that I'm stuck like this, no man will ever want to be with me. Not to mention being with those retards every second of the goddamn day is hell on Earth." She said. "There I've told you. Now go."

I sighed, getting up from the log and began to slowly walk away. "You'll find the one for you, Leah." I said, looking at her from over my shoulder. "Female shifters can imprint, and once you do, he'll think that you're the most perfect thing in this world."

"How would you know…?" She muttered.

"Because _I_imprinted…" I answered.

Her head snapped to attention, and I saw hope glisten in her brown orbs that for once didn't hold any sort of negative emotion. She snapped out of it and looked back at the ground.

"You know Allia… you're not so bad, I guess…"

"Glad you think so," I smiled. "Do you want to come with me and the guys?"

"I can't tolerate their stupidity."

"C'mon, it'll be fun."

"No, it'll be annoying." She got up from the log, dusted the sand off of her shorts, and then looked at me. "I'm going, I have to patrol with Jacob now."

I sighed and nodded, letting her know that I understood. "Alright, see you later,"

"Bye, Allia." I watched as Leah walked towards the trees and disappeared within seconds.

"Was it me, or was that you and Leah _talking_?"

I turned to see a drenched Embry, his shorts soaked, his tanned body glistening with small beads of water, and hair flatter than usual. I then noticed the rest of the guys looking the same and standing behind him, it almost seemed like they were taking cover from something.

How long had they been standing there…?

"Yes, why…?"

"She never talks to anyone…!" Seth shouted. "And I should know! She hardly speaks to me and I'm her _brother_!"

"Why does she like _you_?" Paul shouted angrily. "She hardly even knows you!"

"Hey wait, you imprinted on someone, Allia?" Quil questioned with a small smirk. "Who is it?"

"Yea, c'mon, we won't laugh," Jared chuckled.

"I have the _strangest_feeling that you're lying to my face." I replied sarcastically.

"Guys back off, she doesn't have to tell you if she doesn't want to." Embry said, leaving the water and walking to my side, taking my hand in his protectively to let me know that he was standing up for me.

"Oh, I see now. You imprinted on Embry, here." Paul snickered. "He's going to imprint on someone else you know. It's tragic, almost like star-crossed lovers or some shit like that." He said, and then began to act as if he were about to faint. "Poor Allia might not be able to take it!" His voice went high-pitched as he tried to sound like a girl.

Paul then let himself fall backwards towards Seth, who caught him by his arms and held him up.

Seth looked up at us and shrugged, looking back down at Paul who was still 'unconscious'. He let him go and Paul went underneath the salty water for a few seconds. Seth joined us and smiled. "You don't have to tell us, Ali, well, at least not me." He said.

"I knew there was a reason why I liked you." I smiled and gave him a one armed hug.

Paul resurfaced as we chatted. "What the fuck you idiot?" We looked over at him and saw him getting up from the floor. "Why'd you drop me?"

Seth simply shrugged and gave his usual smile. "It was funny."

Paul began to run after Seth and he took it as his cue to leave, beginning to run up the side of the hill to reach the cliff again, the rest of the boys soon following their lead.

Embry turned to me and motioned towards the hill by shaking his head. "Wanna go now?"

I nodded and began to walk up with him. "I'm actually pretty excited about this," I said as I smiled happily.

We got up to the top of the cliff in a few minutes, and saw Jared and Quil jumping off the edge together, doing karate kicks and chops at each other in midair like dorks. They screamed "hi-ya" at each other acting like they were in some sort of kung fu movie and suddenly both yelled "bonsai" simultaneously as they came in contact with the water.

"Want me to go with you since it's your first time?" Embry offered.

"No, I'm good. I'll go by myself."

He nodded before running to the edge and jumping off, making a cannonball and plummeting into the ocean below. I sat on the ground and began to take off my sandals, placing them to the side and stood back up, pulling my sundress up and over my body. Folding it nicely, I placed it atop my sandals and walked over to the edge of the cliff.

I stared down below at the waves that crashed and attacked the rock wall below, also spraying mist up into the air a few feet. The white foam disappeared and I took a few steps back.

I inhaled and let it out slowly. I hadn't done something like this in a while, and I was getting butterflies in my stomach because of the anticipation of it all. I went darting forward and jumped off the cliff.

I was defying gravity for a moment, for a few glorious seconds, suddenly the force and weight of my body began to catch me and bring me down. I stared down at the wall of blue that was quickly getting closer, butterflies went furiously back and forth, zipping to and from inside my stomach. My insides went into complete chaos as it realized it could be freefalling to its possible death. My heart pounded like a wrecking ball hitting a brick wall inside my chest, my mouth went dry and my eyes began to water with the amount of wind that blew onto them.

At the last second, before I crashed through the cold wall of water, I pulled myself together and made a small ball, pulling my legs up to my chest and hugging them tightly.

I was soon submerged in the chilly water, the salty liquid rushing over my entire body as I sunk a few feet under. After getting over how bone-chilling the water was, I began to swim up, resurfacing and taking in a deep breath to refill my lungs. I moved the strands of stringy, wet hair that clung to me like glue out of my face, and began to swim over to the beach, where Embry and the rest of the guys stood, applauding my dive.

_They're annoying,_ I thought. _But you just have to love them._

-{}-

Leah and I had been patrolling for a few minutes already, and her company was as annoying as ever. She kept being a bitch to me whenever I thought of telling her to shut up. Sometimes I just wish I could somehow cut the connection between us.

_You and me both. I hate seeing your stupid love-struck thoughts about that small and annoying girl._Leah snarled.

I growled viciously and almost stopped running so I could chase after her and make her take those words back. _Shut your damn mouth, Leah. Just because you've never imprinted doesn't give you the right to be an obnoxious bitch with the rest of us._I replied.

_I can do whatever I damn well please, Black._

I was getting closer to the ocean; I knew because I could already smell the crisp, salty air. I came to a slow jog and saw Embry run off the cliff's edge.

Allia began to take her shoes off and put them out of the way. Her small, unpainted toes wriggled around on the soft dirt and her hands went to the bottom of her white dress. Her small and delicate looking hands grasped the fabric and began to slowly lift it up and off her petite body. My eyes grazed over her many curves and found myself to become entranced by them. She placed the now folded dress upon her sandals so they wouldn't get too dirty, and walked over to the edge.

_You're such a fucking pervert, Jacob._Leah growled, which I did my best to ignore.

I became worried that she'd get hurt by being so close, and I wondered why I felt so protective all of a sudden. She walked back and got a running start, sending herself flying over the edge and towards the ocean that would pose as her safety net.

I jogged to the cliff and saw her make contact with the water, soon becoming invisible and reappearing seconds later.

I felt relieved seeing her unharmed and began to walk back into the woods to get back on track with patrolling.

_It's amazing to see that you can have feelings for someone other than your imprint._She mentioned.

Renesmee's face came into my mind and I felt the same uplifting and loving emotion I always felt when I thought of her…

One thing was different though.

Those thousands of cables that held me to Renesmee, to my world, to my imprint… they began to snap away. One by one the wires gradually began to loosen their grip on her, and bit by bit I began to fall away from her.

Those broken cable began to attach themselves to none other than Allia Accalia, the girl who was just there, to the girl who was just temporarily staying, to the girl who was only seen as a friend.

I was scared…

Why was my imprint losing her value to me…?

-{}-

Patrolling with Embry was hell on earth. He had given me a lecture about how much of an idiot and a douche I had been with Allia. After thinking about it… I had to agree. I had in fact been irresponsible and a jackass with her when she had done nothing wrong to me.

_Embry, I know I was a douche, don't worry, I'm going to apologize to her._I told him.

_You better!_ He yelled. _And I'm asking Allia tomorrow to see if you did!_

When he said her name, I became envious of his relationship with her. A few more wires became too strained, and then gave way, falling from Renesmee and finding a new connection with Allia instead.

We met up with each other and began to run towards Sam's, seeing Allia sitting upon the porch stairs, looking bored as she played with the ends of her hair.

Embry changed back into clothes and went up to meet her, embracing her in a hug and giving his friendly hello. He told her about where she would be patrolling and that I apparently had something to say to her.

He left, walking into the house to tell Sam he was done with his shift, and Allia walked towards the forest, towards me.

She gave me a small, weak smile. "Hi Jacob," She said softly, her voice sounding like honey—smooth and warm, hypnotic in a way.

I walked over to her and motioned for her to stay put.

"Jacob, it's fine," She said, causing me to become confused—what was she talking about…? "I know that Sam told you to apologize and I know you don't want to. I'm not going to make you do something you don't want to do. It's fine."

I felt hurt by her rejection, and more cables popped, flinging themselves away from Renesmee and towards her.

I shook my head and she laughed, lifting my spirits somewhat as I heard that melodic, gentle laugh of hers. "I'll make sure to tell Embry that you apologized too, don't worry." She said. "Better start before it gets any later. Oh, and Sam says to go straight home after patrol and to not go to the Cullens."

I didn't do anything as I watched her walk between trees and reappear with her coat that I found beautiful and unique. The chestnut brown upper layer of fur reflected the moonlight nicely, and her white layer of fur on the bottom gave her a true glow of an angel.

She gave me a nod before darting off to start her patrol. After letting out a huff, I turned and began to run to start as well.

It felt weird.

I could sense her, which was incredibly awkward because whenever I or the guys has been in our wolf form with Allia, we had never felt her. The only way we knew she was in her shifted form was when we saw her standing to the side as such.

However, tonight… I could hear a soft buzzing; it was similar to static on the radio.

She was there…

I could feel her…

I could hear her…

Was she pushing her way into the group…? Was her constant presence around us making her one of us—apart of our pack…?

I thought about her and the strings continued to be cut and stitched to Allia…

I guessed it had started with that stupid kiss at my place during that idiotic game of Truth or Dare…

I felt absolutely nothing during the time our lips were connected. To be honest, I even felt a bit repulsed…

Suddenly, when I had pulled away and stared into those damned blue eyes, something snapped. I felt so vulnerable and lost, that I blew up on them all and forced them out of my house.

I decided that I needed to get my priorities straight…

Only one cable had been broken and given to Allia to carry that day… but I guessed that one was all that was needed for a snowball effect to occur…

Only _one_ was needed…


	11. Another Reason

_I was tired, sleepy, and my eyelids drooped over my blue orbs. Elizabeth had gone home, saying that she was exhausted from our small hike earlier in the day, and wanted to go home to rest._

_The moon was almost at its peek, and I knew it was exceptionally late. I would have to be quiet when I got home so I didn't wake them all up._

_I let myself bask in the pure, white light, and it soothed me. It calmed me to the core. It felt as if there was no other existence; just me and the moon._

_"Allia, what are you doing out so late?"_

_I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder, seeing Devin there with a small inquisitive smile. I patted the ground next to me and he came to my side obediently._

_"I just wanted to stay out." I replied._

_He nodded as he put an arm around my shoulders._

_He and I… well, we liked each other—more than friends, though we'd never admit it. It was like we were both scared of what the outcome would be. We were scared that it would ruin what we had._

_When I had changed, my mother had explained to me what being a shape shifter meant, what it entitled. One of those entitlements being something called "imprinting". When I first heard the explanation, I thought it was just a mess of lies—idealistic lies. Nothing that wonderful, that perfect, could ever become a reality._

_However, as I began to think more and more about it, the more that I became attached to Devin… it seemed plausible. My mother told me that when I imprinted, I'd know right away. With Devin, it took time, but I was sure of it… I thought I had imprinted on him. I believed that we would last and be happy._

_"Allia," Devin called, and I looked at him immediately, becoming lost in his dark brown eyes that seemed to have no end to them. "You look so beautiful with the light."_

_I smiled bashfully as blush crept upon my cheeks. "Thanks," I mumbled softly,_

_"Allia," He began._

_"Yea…?"_

_"I really like you… a lot." He said hesitantly. "Maybe even love you…"_

_He slowly put his hand behind the back of my head, and brought me slowly to his face. Our lips were inches apart, both of our eyes went darting to each other's lips and back up. Soon they collided and my heart didn't race like it was supposed to. I didn't get those butterflies in my stomach. I didn't feel like I was ready to burst with happiness—with love. I felt nothing, and I knew instantly that I hadn't imprinted on Devin, he wasn't the one for me._

_Pulling away, Devin smiled from ear to ear, while I kept a straight face. His smile fell ever so slowly as he noticed my lack of bliss. "What's wrong…?" He questioned, concern showing through him._

_"Nothing…" I whispered softly. "I just… don't think that we should be like this." I didn't make eye contact as I stood up shakily, dusting myself off as I did so. "I just don't like you like that."_

_"A-Allia, please… let's just start over," He pleaded. "Let's forget that kiss happened and we'll start over…!"_

_"I'm sorry, I don't think we can." I said. "Goodnight, Devin."_

_I turned and walked away from him, not looking back as he called out my name numerous times, swearing that he would try to get me back no matter what the costs…_

"Allia wake up!" Embry yelled in my ear, causing me to jump up and out of bed, falling onto the floor face first. "Damn, nice face plant." Embry snickered.

"Shut… _up_… Embry…" I mumbled.

I sat up on the floor and looked up at Embry who sat on my bed, a smirk on his lips with his arms crossed over his chest. "Oh, did Jake say anything to you at all last night?"

"Yea, he went into this full-out apology of what he did at the Cullens' was wrong." I lied. "It sounded like he actually meant it too, so I forgave him."

"Oh, that's good," He commented. "C'mon, get dressed, and come out to eat."

I nodded and he helped me up, walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. I picked out some denim shorts, and a nice white spaghetti strap top, changing into them and walking out of my room.

I sat down at the table and joined everyone. After serving myself, I felt a pair of eyes upon me and looked up to see Jacob staring at me with curiosity, soon retuning his attention to his plate once he saw me look at him. I stared at him for a few seconds longer before beginning to eat.

"How was patrol last night, Allia?" Sam asked, looking over at me expectantly.

"Alright, didn't find anything though." I answered, taking a sip of my orange juice.

"That's good." He nodded, stuffing his mouth full of eggs, and washing it down with his cup of OJ. "Carlisle wants to see you—do a check up, so Jacob will take you down there after breakfast."

"Sounds good," I nodded, though I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew nothing was wrong, I just didn't want to go back with Jacob to see him with Renesmee; I didn't want to see if he would forget me again or not.

The table was soon cleared of people and Emily and I began to wash the plates as Jacob went home to get his car, the rest of the guys were already out patrolling.

"So Allia… do you like Embry?" Emily questioned, catching me off guard.

I was slightly dumbfounded. Why would she ask that question—especially so bluntly…?

"Um, as a friend, I guess…" I shrugged. "He's really nice and funny."

"Oh? Nothing more…?" She looked at me suspiciously. "You both always act so close when you're together. Are you lying to me?" She smiled playfully.

I chuckled, beginning to put the plates away into the cabinet as I dried them with a dishtowel. "No, I'm not lying to you, Em. I promise." I said. "There are no romantic feelings between Embry and me."

She pouted, seeming disappointed at my reply. "Oh, I see. I was hoping that there was something there, but I guess not. I really want him to find someone, you know? He deserves to. Most of the boys have already imprinted and a lot of people don't notice, but you can just see how lonely he is." She sighed and sat down at the table, running a hand through her straight, jet black hair and relaxing.

"I know, Em, I know." I nodded in understanding, getting a glass of water and walking over to join her. "I've already talked to him about it. He says he wants to imprint, and that he can get jealous of them, but I told him that the girl he was waiting for was just so special that it was taking time to find her." I explained, sitting down next to Emily and giving her a reassuring smile. "I know he'll find her one day, Emily. Like you said earlier, he deserves it."

She grinned from ear to ear. "You're something else, Allia. Really you are, I can see why the boys like you." She said. "I just wish Jacob hadn't imprinted on Renesmee, than you and him would be _perfect_for each other."

I was taking a drink as she said this, and ended up choking on water, my eyes tearing up as I began to cough violently, my eyes wide with shock. Had Embry told her about my feelings for Jacob…?

"Wha… what are you talking about?" I said, trying to calm myself down.

"Well you obviously like him." She said. "I mean, come on Allia, I'm a girl too, you know. I know what liking someone means—I know the signs."

"Did… Embry tell you?"

"No, I figured it out all on my own." She smiled, leaning onto the table, using her arms to prop herself up. "How much do you like him?"

I stayed silent for a few minutes, debating on whether or not to lie and say that I was getting over him or that I should tell the truth. "I… I imprinted on him…" I murmured lowly.

She gasped; her mouth agape and her chocolate eyes wide. I was wishing I had chosen my first option. "You imprinted on him…?" She questioned. "How's that possible, Allia…? He already imprinted on someone else."

"I don't know Emily, but I hate it. I want to be closer, but I keep myself back for Renesmee. I just have to deal with it, I guess. Besides, after Devin's killed, I'm leaving and going back home to Italy, I don't belong here." I said. "I don't know if I'd be able to handle seeing the two of them together even if I did belong here."

She frowned and she put her hand atop of mine. "Well… you never know." She smiled. "Stay hopeful, and maybe something will happen."

I gave a weak smile to show I was thankful for her saying that. "Thanks Em, but… it's just not possible. Emily, please don't tell anyone—not a soul. I don't want anyone else to know about this. It's pathetic." I sighed, walking over to the kitchen and putting my dirty cup in the sink. "I can hear Jacob driving up; I'm going to get my shoes on."

After slipping on my sandals, I walked out of the house, seeing Jacob leaning up against the passenger door. He looked deep in thought as he scrutinized the ground, his eye brows pushed together—he didn't even hear me come up to him.

"Jacob…?" I called softly.

His head snapped up and a small smile showed itself to me. "Sorry… I zoned out." He murmured.

"Obviously," I joked.

He turned around and opened the door for me, which caught me by surprise, though I thanked him and got in. He walked around the front of the car, still looking like he was thinking about a life changing decision, and got into the driver's seat, turning the car on with the twist of the key in the ignition.

The Rabbit then began to propel itself down the dirt path until we reached the main road. It was a quiet ride; and I was trying to not think of the awkwardness of it all as I stared out the window at the trees that seemed never-ending. Needless to say, I was quite thankful for the ride to be over when we arrived at the Cullen residence.

We both got out and walked over to the door, entering the house with ease.

"Haven't you ever heard of _knocking_, mutts?" The Blondie, Rosalie, growled as she saw us walk in from the living room.

"Rosalie," Carlisle's voice warned, and I saw him coming down the stairs. "Be nice to them."

She groaned, a low growl in her throat, and soon marched away snootily, cursing Jacob and I under her breath to high heaven.

"I'm sorry about her, Jacob, Allia." He apologized.

"No need to apologize, Carlisle," I shrugged, dismissing the matter. "It's fine."

He smiled gratefully before turning to Jacob. "Jacob, Renesmee's waiting for you upstairs in her room." He stated.

"Thanks, where's Bella?"

"She and Edward went out hunting."

Jacob nodded before bounding up the stairs to Renesmee's side, leaving me to feel the cracks in my heart deepen.

"Please, follow me Allia, and I'll start the check up."

Carlisle ascended the staircase and I followed after him, walking down the hallway and passing Jacob and Renesmee who were playing loudly in her room. I didn't dare look inside. I knew that if I did I could possibly lose it.

We walked into the same room as last time and I sat down on the bed, Carlisle taking a seat on a stool. "Alright, how have you been feeling these past few days? Has there been any dizziness, nausea, soreness—anything?"

"No, not at all. I feel great." I answered.

"That's good," He smiled sincerely. "I just want to see how your back is. He may have hurt your neck and I just want to make sure that everything is in order." He said, standing up and motioned for me to as well. "Just bend over and I'll check your spine."

I did so and I could feel his cold fingers trace up and down my spinal column, making sure that everything was good. He clapped his hands and helped me back up.

"You're fine. It's almost like nothing ever happened." He smiled.

"Thanks for everything, Carlisle." I smiled gratefully at him.

"It's not a problem. I'm glad that I could help."

"Allia!" Jacob yelled and ran into the room.

"What's wrong?" I asked quickly, worry evident in my voice.

"They found Devin's scent. The rest of the guys are going after him and Sam wants us to help. C'mon!"

We both began to run down the stairs and out the door, dashing madly into the woods. We quickly stripped down, not bothering to go behind trees seeing as we didn't look at each other as we did so, and shifted into our wolf form.

Our paws stomped on the dirt ground as we sprinted through the forest, possibly going around ninety miles per hour. The leaves that were on the floor whirled around as we passed them due to our speed. Jacob was faster than me, and was slowly going farther ahead of me; I was probably twenty feet behind him.

I couldn't wait to get my revenge on that pesky leech… I was ready for it.

I wanted to feel him die between my jaws. I wanted to hear how sorry he was for killing Elizabeth.

I wanted to see him dead.

Jacob was farther ahead of me now, at least a good hundred feet.

_Gotta push myself further…_

Suddenly, I was slammed into from the side. Devin pummeled me into trees, and actually uprooted one in the process. I could hear Jacob's growl of anger as he changed direction and went back after me.

Devin, seeing as he was still on top of me, got onto my back and rode me like a horse. I rolled around in the dirt, hoping to get him off of me, but it was useless. He had a firm grip around my neck, and his fingernails were slowly digging themselves into me. I whined lowly from pain and I heard Jacob growl, beginning to charge at Devin.

"I have no problem ripping her head right off her body, _mutt_; I suggest you stay there." He said. "Move an inch and you'll regret it." Jacob stayed still, glowering and growling at the bloodsucker that was atop me. "Smart choice."

The world began to shift and I knew that Devin was transporting me to another location, this time with himself along for the ride. He jumped off and I barked at him angrily, beginning to charge at him.

He attempted to escape, however it was just too late for him, and so I pummeled him into the dirt ground with force. He hissed and I put my large paw into the air, striking his neck and tossing him into trees with my jaws. He looked dead as he was slouched up against the tree, and I growled menacingly as I approached him cautiously.

He looked up slowly, blood dripping from his neck. "They're coming…" He mumbled. "They're coming for you and her." I barked at him, a growl ripping through the air and he continued talking immediately. "The Volturi… they're going to kill her… that abomination—the hybrid… and they're going to take you for your powers."

I walked closer to him and he stood up, using the tree to do so. "Being able to light things on fire isn't the only thing you can do, Allia." His wounds began to mend themselves, his skin stitching itself back together. "You have more abilities, though no one knows what they are. If they feel you're of value, they'll keep you alive for their purposes. If you're just another useless shifter, you'll be killed without a second thought."

_He has to be lying._ I concluded. _They'd never think about keeping me alive _because _I'm a shifter._

"They believe that your father would be able to create a sort of spell to take the mutt gene out of you, leaving you with only the abilities. After that, they would change you into a vampire."

_My father wouldn't do that to me… would he?_

"When I talked to Aro, he ordered me to come and tell you all of this so that way you could think about your decision. You can join the Volturi and live… or you can reject their gracious offer and be killed mercilessly." He stated. "When Aro arrives, he expects an answer."

I had enough of his talking—of his worthless speech. The anger that had been simmering inside me soon reached a boiling point and I tackled him into the tree, knocking it over ruthlessly as it snapped and collapsed onto the floor.

He tried to force me off, putting his icy hands onto my shoulders and face and pushing as hard as he could. My teeth were centimeters away from mauling his face.

He got a sudden rush of strength and hit my left arm with enough force to make me lose my balance, and to also break my forearm in half. I whined and yelped in pain, jumping to the side and falling to the ground for lack of balance.

He stood above me and glared. "I don't know whether to obey Aro's orders and keep you alive, or kill you right here while I have an advantage and die by Aro's hand later." I could feel myself become weak, and I felt the fur leave my body as I changed back into human form, curled in a small and secure ball. Devin squatted down beside me and moved a few strands of hair from my face. "But with everything you've put me through… It'd be worth it."

His hand reached for my neck and he began to suffocate me. My right hand went flying onto his forearm as I tried to use the last of my strength to get him off of me. I coughed and was slowly becoming lightheaded, my hand loosening its grip bit by bit.

My eyelids covered my blue eyes and I found it nearly impossible to open them again. I heard Devin chuckle with satisfaction, though his grip never loosened, he actually made his hold on me even tighter.

A snarl ripped throughout the quiet air and Devin hissed, soon being tackled off of me. I coughed violently as I tried to get air once again into my lungs. I found that I was too weak to even inhale, and I continued to suffocate.

"Allia!" Jacob yelled. Hearing his voice filled with worry broke my heart, and so I managed to reopen my closed eyes, finding him by my side wearing his shorts and shirt. "Allia, breathe—can't you breathe?" Without waiting for a reply, he picked up my chin, took a deep breath, connecting our lips and helping me breathe. He repeated the action for a few minutes until I was able to take small breaths on my own. "Allia, are you hurt anywhere?"

I looked over at my arm and back to him. "Broken…" I whispered, slightly hoarse from the amount of pressure Devin had put onto my throat earlier.

His eyes grew cold and I saw his hands form themselves into fists, his knuckles white. He stood up and walked into the woods, returning with a few large and straight twigs. He sat down next to my broken limb and took his shirt off, revealing his well-sculpted chest. He ripped the shirt in half and began to put the twigs next to my arm. He began to slowly wrap the twigs and my arm together with his shirt and when he tied it a bit too tight, I winced and whined out softly, feeling my eyes water.

"Sorry," He apologized sincerely. "It's supposed to act as a splint until we get to Carlisle's. This is the best I can do."

I nodded and sat up carefully with his help. "My clothes," I mumbled.

He took them off of the string and helped me get dressed, not looking unless he needed to see what he was doing or if I needed help. I found the small light blush on his cheeks to be cute, though I knew I was just as shy and embarrassed as he was—even more actually.

Once my shorts and shirt were back on, he disappeared and came back in his shifted form. He got down low enough for me to be able to climb onto his back without too much effort, and soon we were jogging back to the Cullen's. Jacob didn't want to go too fast so I wouldn't somehow injure myself further, though he was trying to go as fast as he could…

Jacob barked when we arrived and the pack came out from inside. Embry noticed my situation and made a mad dash to my side, taking me in his arms and carrying me bridal style up the stairs and into the room where Carlisle's medical equipment was, the doctor and the pack following quickly.

I was set upon the table and Carlisle began to get to work on making a cast for me while also putting ice on my arm to stop the swelling. After getting the cast on, I was ordered to get some rest by both Carlisle and Sam.

Embry fluffed my pillows and covered me with blankets like a mother tucking in her child and told me to relax, saying that he would stay here until I could leave.

The door remained open and I was able to make out the conversation that was happening downstairs.

"Alice… Alice what's wrong…?"

There was silence for a few seconds before the vampire gave an answer. "Irina… Irina saw Renesmee and went to the Volturi… they're coming here." Her voice quivered with fear as she spoke. "They're coming to kill Renesmee."

My world came to a halt, and I began to realize that maybe Devin had in fact been telling the truth when he said that they were coming.

"Allia…"

I looked to the door and saw Jacob standing there with his arms crossed. "Get some rest," He said, walking a few steps closer, and moving a few strands of my hair from my eyes. "You need to rest." He repeated, and then gave a small smile, which made my heart pound a bit harder instantly. "And be happy… Devin won't be bothering you any more."

A grin came upon my lips and I felt tears sting my eyes. The bastard had finally died. My best friend's murderer was gone now, and I could rest a bit more easily with that knowledge.

Jacob walked out, turning off the light and closing the door after saying a quick "sleep tight" to me.

I smiled, staring at the dark ceiling above me as I realized something.

I had another reason to fall harder for Jacob Black…


	12. Unhappy Camper

We were now going on two weeks. It had been two weeks since Jacob had done the greatest thing that anyone had ever done for me...

He killed Devin.

However... it had also been two weeks since I had last _seen_Jacob as well. He practically lived at the Cullens' home now to stay with Renesmee because of the Volturi. He only came by to get fresh clothes every other day, and whenever that was, I was off doing patrols with Embry.

Needless to say, I was a very _un_happy camper.

At least on the inside.

"I'm beat," I sighed out as Embry, Seth, and I walked up the porch stairs and into the house, the three of us plopping onto the seats at the table. "Em, can you bring me some water, please?"

"Sure, Allia, hold on." Emily sweetly replied, soon coming from the kitchen with a tray with three large glasses of water atop it.

"Thank you, Em. You're awesome." I smiled gratefully.

"Sure thing, Ali." She winked, walking back towards the kitchen.

I stared at the guys and softly smacked them upside their heads. "What do you say?"

"Thanks, Emily!" They cried in unison.

Emily laughed heartily and quickly came back to look at me. "I swear Allia, you should've come sooner."

"Hey!" Seth cried as if he were offended.

"Yea, what's _that_supposed to mean?" Embry joined in.

Emily and I laughed together for a second before she went back to work and I finished my cup of water.

"Embry, can you believe how many vamps the Cullens are bringing in?" Seth inquired, leaning back in his chair as he got comfortable.

"Yea, Sam sure is getting uptight about it. Way more patrols than we used to do." Embry commented, getting comfy as well.

"Well, yea... I mean there are so many leeches and they aren't suited to the Cullens' way of living off of animals. One might not be able to control itself." I added.

"True..." Embry agreed. "But I don't think the Cullens would allow any leech to come if they thought they wouldn't be able to have some control."

"Well, either way, it's not the best feeling to have right now." Seth stated, summing it all up.

Getting up from the table, I handed Emily my glass as I headed into the kitchen, soon retreating into my room for some rest. I jumped onto the mattress and let myself become comfortable for a few minutes.

There was a knock on my door and I looked at it. "Allia, dinner's ready and the rest of the guys should be here in a few minutes." Emily called through the door.

"Thanks, Em, but I'm really tired so I think I'm going to go to sleep."

The door opened and she walked to the side of the bed, a concerned expression on her face. "You're not _sick_are you?" She asked worriedly, placing her palm onto my forehead.

"I've got that sleep deprivation sickness that's going around." I joked.

She chuckled lightly before nodding. "Alright, well, I'll save some leftovers for you in case you wake up at night and decide you're hungry. They'll be in the fridge."

"Okay, thank you, Emily." I said through a small yawn.

She nodded and walked towards the door, turning off the lights and whispering a quiet "Good Night".

Within minutes, I was asleep, dreaming of a world that wasn't so chaotic...


	13. Dad

"Allia, wake up."

Slowly, my eyes lifted up and revealed Embry from behind them. "What time is it...?" I groaned out tiredly.

"It's early, five-fifty in the morning."

"Why are you waking me up so early, Embry...?"

"The Volturi are coming... _today_."

I sat upright as soon as I heard and stared at him in shock. "You're sure...?"

All he did was nod gravely. "Get ready. We're leaving in a few minutes." With that he hastily made his way out of the room and closed the door after he left.

The blankets flew off my body and I stumbled over towards my dresser, slipping on some shorts and a cropped top with ease. After getting my usual sandals on I made a mad dash down the stairs, running my hands through my hair and patting it down quickly.

Everyone, but Jacob, Seth, Leah, and Sam, was at the table, sitting down and having breakfast. Ever since Jacob had created his own pack and had gotten both Clearwaters to join, it seemed that this place got more and more lonesome. I didn't know exactly where Sam was at the moment, but I was more than sure that he was doing something important.

As I took another glance around the room, I realized how thick the air was with tension even though it _looked_like a normal morning.

"Lee, c'mon sit down." Embry patted the seat next to him.

My feet immediately responded by moving forward and I was soon sitting down beside him. Emily, who was still in her pink PJs set a plate down in front of me with the usual breakfast of bacon, eggs, and hash browns. I dug into the meal without a second thought, not wanting to waste what little time we had to get some food and energy into our bodies.

As I ate, it all seemed surreal.

It felt like only yesterday that Devin and Alice had both informed us all that _they_were coming soon. However, the reality of it was that it had been a little less than a month.

I had never met them before, let alone heard of them, and it was sounding more and more intimidating by the second. I knew that most of them were gifted with abilities, but I wasn't sure of what they were.

A sudden thought occurred to me...

_Are they bringing my father...?_ I pushed away my now empty plate and shook my head lightly. _Don't get too distracted, Allia._ I told myself. _Just worry about protecting Jacob's imprint..._

"You ready, Allia?" I looked up to see Paul standing beside me.

I simply nodded and all of us made our way out of the house. Emily watched us from the porch, a few tears streaking down her face occasionally. "You _all_better come back home, you hear that...?" She shouted.

We all turned to look at her and stayed quiet, no one saying a word or doing a thing. It was almost like we were telling her that we weren't making any promises.

It seemed to make her even more worried...

"I promise, we will." I answered her, not being able to help myself.

She smiled back gratefully before wiping a few tears away with a nod. "Good. You better."

We continued on into the forest and Paul approached me. "You shouldn't have said that, Allia. None of us know if that's going to be true. What happens if it's a broken promise?"

"It won't be." I replied strongly. "We can take 'em."

Deep down I was secretly hoping my prideful words wouldn't come back to bite me.

He stared me down for a few seconds before moving away to shift. I left behinds some trees and undressed, soon shifting into my other form.

For some reason, everything felt different. It was like my senses were heightened. The dirt between my toes felt more cool and moist than it usually did. The air was crisp with the morning aroma of dew and freshly fallen rain. The silence that surrounded me seemed to boom in my ears.

_It's probably my nerves..._I concluded.

I walked out to see a gray fur coat with the usual dark spots on the back. Embry motioned for me to follow him and I immediately did. The two of us sprinted towards the Cullen home and we were there within five minutes.

As we arrived, we noticed everyone heading out already. I could see Renesmee being held by Jacob in the front, and the parents of the child watching her closely.

All in all, I was pleased, happy to see Jacob. Even though he was holding my sworn enemy in this game called "love", I didn't mind because hadn't seen him in weeks.

I wanted to be closer to him.

So much closer to him...

Embry nudged me and motioned for me to follow and not get left behind. I then trailed after everyone along with Embry.

We came to a clearing in the forest and stood there... _waiting_. Waiting for something to happen. Waiting for the Volturi to appear before us. Possibly even waiting for death to sweep over us all...

How I _hoped_it wasn't that last one...

"I can hear them. Here they come..." Renesmee's mother, Bella, stated tensely.

"Start putting up the shield, love." Edward said.

_What are they talking about...?_I thought to myself curiously.

Right after he had told her to do so, I felt a sort of feeling of security. However, as soon as the feeling came, it left just as fast. _What was that about...?_

Edward's head snapped towards me. "Allia, I can hear your thoughts."

_What's your point?_

"I'm not supposed to be able to hear you when you're inside Bella's shield." Immediately he turned to his wife. "Bella, love, are you able to reach Allia with your shield?"

"Yea, I felt her... but now I can't feel her inside it anymore..." she looked at me curiously. "Allia, are you resisting the shield...?"

I shook my head in disagreement without hesitation.

"Allia, it may be your father's powers that are restricting you from being inside Bella's shield. The powers you received from him may be cancelling out Bella's ability." Carlisle spoke cleverly.

_I think that might be it._

"She thinks so, too." Edward told his adoptive father.

"You should head back home to Emily. Without a shield you'll become a huge target for them." Carlisle stated.

I shook my head violently. _I'm not going anywhere._

"Please, Allia. You're father would want me to get you out of here."

"I'm afraid it is far too late, Carlisle, my old friend."

Carlisle looked away as did everyone else. "Ah... hello Aro, it has been quite a while."

"Yes, it has been."

I looked at the group of people, my eyes scanning each individual. Sure enough, he was standing at the end, his brown eyes were staring into my own blue ones, and for once in a long while, I could feel the love he had for me.

The love he _still _had for me.

_Dad..._


	14. They Were Tears

All was quiet in the clearing. The feeling of anxiety was enough to suffocate just about anyone. I couldn't help but feel vulnerable through it. The way the Volturi stood before us, strong and tall, it was intimidating.

I wasn't going to let it get to me though... well, at least not too much.

"So, Carlisle..." Aro began, meshing his hands together as he intertwined his fingers. "What is the meaning of all this?"

"Well, you see Aro, Renesmee is my grandchild. She's the daughter of my son Edward and Bella, while she was still human." He began. "She's different. She's—"

"She's a _threat_." A girl with blond hair hissed out angrily.

"Now, now, Jane." Aro looked at her warningly. "We mustn't be rude and interrupt others while they talk." He looked back at Carlisle and nodded for him to continue.

"She's not an immortal child, however."

"My daughter is of no threat to you, or to the rest of the vampire world." Edward boldly stated. "And these people here with us have already promised to vouch for her."

As they continued to explain, I was gazing at my father in awe. I was still shocked to see him after so long. It gave me great pleasure, however, knowing what he was broke my heart in two. It didn't make me think differently of him, though. I still loved him, he had given his humanity for my safety. How could I not love him after that...?

Aro's eyes turned into slits as they surveyed everyone. He looked as if he were trying to get people to fess up, admit that it was a lie. None did, however, and he chuckled lowly to himself.

"I see... Irina, dear... were you _lying_to us...?" Aro questioned, turning to the blond vampire with an accusing stare.

"N-no, Aro. I was not." She answered. "I thought that what I saw was true. I believed that the girl really was an immortal child. Aro, I intend to take full responsibility for my actions, the Cullens are not to blame."

Aro smiled, before turning to another vampire. "Caius..."

"Demetri, kill her." Caius said to one of the guards.

I looked away from the sight and when I turned back around she was aflame. It remained quiet as everyone stared at burning carcass.

"_Now_she has taken responsibility for her actions." Aro mumbled. He looked towards Renesmee with a smile and I could hear Jacob growling lowly. "Little one, do not worry. No one here will hurt you, your family or your friends. They are not in harm's way."

_He doesn't sound sincere..._

"Tell me about it," Edward agreed.

"Aro," Marcus called. "What shall we do now?"

Aro looked towards us and back to Marcus before replying, "We shall vote on whether to dispose of the child or not."

Aro, Marcus and Caius gathered and we listened carefully, hanging onto every word.

"I do not feel she will be of any danger, Aro." Marcus stated.

"Doubtful. It can't be trusted. They say it's not immortal, but then what is it? I can't bring myself to that decision, Marcus." Caius declared firmly.

"What say you, Aro?" Marcus questioned.

Aro turned to see Renesmee and stared at her carefully as he made his final decision.

"Aro!"

Everyone turned to the side to see Alice, Jasper, and another man beside them. His heartbeat was clear, and I immediately registered as a human in my mind.

But why would Alice and Jasper bring a human?

"Ah, Alice, Jasper, how nice of you both to join us." Aro commented. "And who have you brought along? A human?"

"Aro, whatever doubts you have against Renesmee being a threat to our world will be cleared right now." Alice spoke strongly. "I promise you." Jasper took her hand, squeezing it comfortingly, and giving her a small reassuring smile at which she softly thanked him.

The man stepped forward and cleared his throat. "My name is Nahuel, I'm from South America. My mother was a human, while my father was of your world. I'm 150 years old, along with my younger two sisters. The three of us are what you are trying to destroy." He declared, standing his ground. "We are half human and half vampire. As you can see we have not caused any trouble for you or your world, so please reconsider taking this child's life. She will _not_be a threat."

Aro listened to him and looked contemplative. He clapped his hands with a smile on his face before coming to his answer. "It seems as if I've made up my mind. Caius, I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with you. I do not believe this child will cause harm to our world." He walked closer towards us and looked towards Bella and Edward. "Though, may I see for myself... her gift?"

Edward and Jacob walked with Renesmee in between them. Jacob was ready to pounce if anything occurred and Edward was in position to attack Aro as well. Aro knelt down to Renesmee's height and took her hand in his delicately before smiling. "Ah... I see..." He smiled at her before standing and looking at Edward. "You have a truly gifted daughter, Edward."

"Thank you, we know."

Aro turned and walked back towards his coven and they began to leave. "Oh my... I almost forgot." Aro mumbled, looking back at us. He nodded towards my father who then motioned his hand towards me, his index finger pointed. My body was cold as I transformed back fully clothed. I was shocked as I stared at Aro and my father. "Allia Accalia, did you receive the message Devin was to give you?"

Everyone's eyes landed upon me. "No, I did not." I lied smoothly, remembering that I was to have an answer ready by today.

In all honesty, I hadn't thought much of it the past few weeks. Everyone was mostly concerned about Renesmee and her safety. I hadn't told anyone about it either, I didn't need to put more worries atop their shoulders.

"Ah I see, you disposed of him too quickly to get the message." He mused. "I'll simply tell you myself, then. I want you to come with us, join our coven. I'm sure that we can do great things, Allia."

"Why do you want her, Aro?" Carlisle questioned. "She's a shape-shifter. She would kill you."

"Ah, I'm afraid that is classified information, Carlisle." He replied. "There is no need to concern yourself." He turned back towards me and smiled. "If you agree, your father will be free to do whatever he wishes and we shall let him leave in exchange for you. You have one week's time to make you choice. If you do not want to join, stay here and we will take care of you. If you agree... come back _home_."

"What are you planning, Aro...?" Carlisle mumbled to himself.

"I expect to see you soon, Allia. I don't like to be disappointed."

With that, the Volturi, along with my father, were gone.

I already knew my decision. I didn't need a second thought about it. I was going to join them. I would do it to free my father.

_He made a sacrifice for me, and I will do the same for him._

"You're really going to go, Allia?" Edward questioned. "Your father's sacrifice would be in vain if you go."

"Allia, you cannot go to the Volturi." Carlisle stated. "They'll kill you."

"I can and I will, Carlisle. I'm afraid that neither of you have a choice in this."

"What about me?" I turned to see Embry in his shorts, hair a mess with watery eyes. "Don't _I_have a say in this, Allia...?"

"Embry... I _have_to go."

"NO! You don't!"

"Yes, I do, Embry! I have to do this!" I screamed, my eyes beginning to water up as well. I hated fighting with Embry. He was my best friend, and screaming at him made me feel awful. It made me feel like I was a horrible friend.

I ran into the trees and heard everyone running after me. I stripped my clothes off with haste and shifted, soon sprinting away from everyone.

I actually wished that Devin was still around. He could've been able to transport me out of here and to the Volturi easily...

An impact on my left side shoved me into a three, and I whined out in pain. The force was so brutal and I lost my form, changing back into my human state. I looked up out of my blurred and watery eyes, blinking and letting the tears cascade down.

"I'm sorry, Allia." Jacob mumbled softly. "I can't let you go. I _won't let_you go."

My eyes shut slowly and I felt a few drops of water hit my cheeks. All I could think of was the fact that the sky wasn't gloomy or dark like it usually was.

I could only think of the fact that those droplets _weren't_rain...

They were _tears_.


	15. Euphoria

The past five days had been pure torture. More mentally than physically, however.

I learned that Jacob had carried me and my unconscious self from where he had knocked me out in the woods, back to Emily and Sam's. After that, I was locked in my room and had someone with me 24/7.

I had woken up from my unconscious state a day later to find Paul, Seth, and Jared in the room with me first. They attempted to persuade me to stay, and they tried to make small talk when that didn't work. I stayed silent as they chattered, trying to ignore them.

"_Goddammit, Allia!_" Paul shouted. "We're trying to fucking help you here! Stop thinking you can take everything on by yourself!"

"Paul, calm down." Seth told him.

"No, I'm not calming the fuck down until she gets over herself!"

"Paul!" The three boys turned to see Sam standing in the door frame defiantly. "Calm down, _now_." Paul grumbled lowly before stomping out of the room. "Jared, make sure he doesn't do something stupid."

"Why do I always have the hard jobs...?" Jared mumbled, following Paul's lead out of the room, Seth right behind him.

Sam closed the door behind himself and walked over to a chair that was next to my bed. He sat down upon it and sighed. "Allia... are you ready to talk about this yet?"

I didn't reply and he gave a frustrated groan as he ran his hands through his black hair. I knew he didn't have much tolerance left in him for me. "You know... I have to agree with Paul. We _are_doing this to help you, Allia. But we can only help if you tell us what's going on. Do you know why they want you?"

Yet again, I remained silent and Sam stared at the ground before standing up and walking towards the door.

"I..." Sam's head snapped towards me in shock that I had spoken. "I don't need help. I don't need you all to get dragged into this. This... this is _my_problem, and I would appreciate it if you realized that and let me go."

"As long as someone in my pack cares about you, that' won't be happening, Allia. I'm sorry." Sam replied. "I'm done, come on up." He hollered down the hall.

Footsteps came marching down the hallway and soon a head poked through the door. Emily smiled and walked in, an indifferent Leah following after.

"She's all yours." With that, Sam walked out of the room and left the three of us alone.

Emily gave another small grin before walking over to my bed and sitting down next to me. "Hey Lee, how are you?"

I didn't reply for most of the questions they had asked me, and didn't even acknowledge the statements they were giving.

A few hours had gone by, and Emily had decided to bring out her variety of nail polish. She picked out a color for me since I was unresponsive, and grinned. "Ooh, this is a perfect match with your skin tone."

I took a quick curious glance at the color to find she was going to apply a light pink. "You're not putting _pink_on my finger nails."

Emily glanced at me, her mouth agape in slight shock. She grinned enthusiastically before putting the polish away. "Which one then? You pick." She held out her assortment of colors and I chose white.

"French tips are nice..." I mumbled, hoping she'd get the hint.

She nodded enthusiastically before grabbing my hand and getting to work. Within thirty minutes she had finished my nails and gasped at the time.

"Oh, I've gotta make dinner for the guys." She looked at me and smiled. "Allia... we love you. Don't take this all on by yourself. It'll hurt everyone here." Emily kissed the top of my head and told me to think about it before she left the room, leaving me with Leah.

Leah and I didn't converse with each other at all until it was time for her watching shift to be over a few hours later.

"Allia," She began. "I've never met someone as selfish at you. We're trying to fucking help you. Accept it. But... I've never met someone who made me felt like my life isn't so helpless. Sam left me because he found his imprint, I change into a beast whenever I'm angry, and I'm the only person who isn't a complete idiot in this pack. Pretty much... all this shifting has brought me is bad things and experiences I wish I never had to go through.

"Then when I met you... things... I guess they kinda got better. You saved my life, I had someone who was more tolerable than the rest of these idiots... and you gave me hope. You made me believe that I could still have a happy life by imprinting on someone. You told me that you had and that's stuck with me ever since that day at First Beach." She shakily sighed and looked down at the floor. "If you fucking give up on us... then all hope is going to be gone for me as well. I'll give up, too..."

"_Don't_." I mumbled. "I'm not giving up on you or the guys, Leah. That's not what I'm doing right now.

"You and I have different hopes and dreams. Yours is to imprint, mine is to find my father and become a family again, even if it might cost me my life. So please... don't make me give up _my_hope. I don't want to give it up."

Leah looked up at me in awe with watery eyes. She sniffled and hugged me tightly. "Then just come back when you get your dad. Let us know you're alright."

I smiled happily and nodded. "I will. I promise you."

"Good." She sighed, more calm now then before. "Embry's coming up next, just so you know."

"Great..." I mumbled. This was something that I had been dreading for the past few days. After blowing up on each other, I wasn't very eager to see him. "Thanks for the heads up."

She only nodded and waited for Embry walk into the room, which took less then ten seconds. "Bye Allia," She mumbled.

As the door was closed, Embry and I stared at each other for a few minutes in an uncomfortable silence. The only thing that I could think of was our fight. It was continuously replaying itself in my mind. How angry and betrayed he was... it hurt me.

The more I thought about it, the more my eyes got watery with tears that threatened to spill over.

He grimaced and walked over to the bed, sitting down and pulling me into a hug. Immediately the tears fell down and I sobbed softly into his shoulder pathetically.

"Shh, it's alright, Allia. It's alright."

"No, it's not. I yelled at you when I shouldn't have. You were only trying to keep me safe." I cried out. "I'm a horrible friend."

"You're far from it, Lee. _I'm_the one who's a horrible friend." He cooed. "I tried to make you do something that you didn't want to do. I tried to control you, and that's something that no one should ever do."

Embry simply let me cry into his shoulder so I could relieve myself of all the emotions I had bottled up inside for a while. Throughout everything, he kept telling me things would be fine.

"Why don't you sleep? I'll stay with you." He suggested.

"Sounds good right about now," I mumbled with a light chuckle.

"Good." Embry and I got underneath the covers and he made sure I was comfortable. "There, now go ahead and sleep."

"Night, Embry."

"Night, Lee."

Hours had passed and I was waking up to find Embry standing next to the door, looking down the hallway.

"What are you doing...?" I softly inquired.

Embry snapped to attention and looked at me. "My shift is over," He replied. "Jake's next."

"Why is it Jacob?"

"Because I know that you'll listen to him. I'm going to make everyone get out of here so that way you guys can have some privacy. I know that we don't need to worry about you with Jake here."

Within a few minutes, footsteps could be heard making their way down the hall, and Jacob himself entered the room. Embry smiled at me and patted Jacob on the back before leaving the two of us alone.

"So..." Jacob coughed and cleared his throat. "How are you feeling?"

"Kinda... kinda crappy." I sighed. "You?"

"Same." He chuckled, and walked towards the bed, sitting down beside me. "I'm sorry about knocking you out..."

"It's in the past." I could tell that me being distant was putting him off. I could tell that I was making him uncomfortable. I felt bad and sighed. "Don't worry about it." I added.

"Allia, why do you want to leave?"

"It's not a matter of me wanting to leave. I wouldn't if I had a choice, this is like my second home. I have to do it though, my father needs my help. I know that he hates working for the Volturi."

"I know that you wanna get your father back, it's understandable. You wanna be a family again." I nodded and he continued on with his speech. "But we're also your family now, Allia. We care about you just as much as your father cares about you. We wanna make sacrifices for you like he did. That's what family does." He put his hand onto my own and gave it a soft squeeze. "Will you give us that chance...?"

"I can't." I sighed. "Jake, why do you care so much?"

"Because... you've been with us for a while. We've done a lot together." He quickly replied. "There's a lot of different reasons."

"Oh... alright." I nodded, and looked at the ground. "Jake... what did you mean by you wouldn't let me go?"

"What...?"

"After you knocked me out, you said you wouldn't let me go... why?"

"Allia..." He sighed and pulled my chin up with his finger, letting my eyes gaze into his own. "I need you to go with what I'm about to do. I need to know something, and this is the only way I can find out. Don't take it the wrong way..."

"What are you—?"

His lips crashed onto my own and I was then silenced with a moment of euphoria.


	16. I Love You

_**[A/N: This chapter is a lemon, and is also written in third person.]**_

Allia wasn't able to comprehend how blissful the moment was. Jacob's lips against her own was indescribable. She felt like her world was finally spinning in the right direction for once.

Jacob, meanwhile, was confused. Half his body was in pure ecstasy, while the other was madly screaming at him to pull away for Renesmee's sake. He didn't want to go behind Renesmee's back.

But then why was he doing this...?

_Why _am _I doing this...? _He thought.

As Jacob decided to pull away from Allia's intoxicating lips, he felt her small, delicate hand run itself through his hair, and he was back to having all his attention on her. And only her.

Jacob's eyes opened to see Allia falling deeper into the kiss they shared. Her eyelids covered the blue orbs that he had grown fond of, though in his mind, he could see them and their eternal depth clearly.

They pulled away to breathe and they were both panting from lack of air.

As Jacob stared at her, he could feel the cables that connected him to Renesmee being cut away by invisible pliers that he couldn't control. Her image began to become foggy, soon becoming invisible and replaced by Allia's.

"I don't want you to leave, La Push, Allia. Ever." He told her huskily. "I need you here... with _me_."

Allia couldn't believe her ears. She almost didn't want to. She didn't want to believe and find out it was a lie.

Would he lie to her about something like this... especially when he had an imprint...?

She didn't know...

"Allia, I can't... I can't figure out why, but I care about you. One hell of a lot." He gasped, coming towards her, placing his hand behind her head and guiding it towards his. "You're a necessity for me now."

Allia gazed into his never-ending chocolate eyes, trying to figure out if this was really happening. She wanted to believe so...

"Jake... I need to tell you something." Butterflies were going haywire in her stomach. Her mind was a foggy haze as she began to think about what would come out of her mouth next. She didn't need to think for much longer, however. "I imprinted on you when I first saw you... I _love_you..."

Without hesitation, Jacob crashed his lips onto her own and the two fiercely embraced one another with a new found passion. Jacob wrapped his arms around Allia's waist and pulled her onto his lap, soon laying down and taking her with him.

Allia's brown mess of hair hung messily to one side of her head and Jacob caressed her cheek on the opposite side gently. Jacob's lips left her for a few seconds and she was able to catch the breath that left her for those few mind-boggling minutes. Jacob's new area of interest was her neck, where he began to leave dozens of pecks and nibbles wherever he could reach. Every once in a while he would get a rise out of Allia, and he smirked whenever she moaned softly in his ear.

He rolled her over so she was on her back and he was now hovering above her dominantly. He playfully smirked down at her before taking the bottom hem of his shirt and taking it off completely. He sent it off to the side and Allia's eyes followed it as it came into contact with the floor.

Allia looked up at him and could see Jacob's dark brown eyes contain a lustful fog to them, and she knew that her eyes were exactly the same.

She _wanted_him right now.

She _needed_him right now.

And that was the only thing she cared about at the moment.

Jacob let his chest collide with her clothed one and he instantly despised the fabric that separated them. Allia's lips found their way back to his and she felt like she was able to feel everything much better. Her senses seemed heightened.

As they kissed one another, Allia's hands eagerly explored Jacob's bare chest, letting her fingers glide over his skin delicately. The way she touched him, so tenderly, sent chills throughout his body.

Jacob sat upright on her hips and Allia propped herself up on her elbows. Both their eyes traveled towards her white cropped top and without another second, Jacob tore it off her body, and long with her white bra.

They played long with each others' lips before they were both unclothed. Their bodies were a tangled mess as they continued to kiss one another passionately.

One of Jacob's hands raced down the curvy side of Allia's body, and that small gesture alone made Allia groan lightly. His middle finger then entered her, maneuvering itself in and out at a slow pace before he picked it up, entering a few more fingers as time went by.

"Allia..." Jacob huffed.

"Jake... just... just fuck me." She sighed softly, with an edge in her voice.

Allia moaned in ecstasy as she felt him within her. If she had thought simply kissing him was pleasure, then this was her absolute heaven.

It was like two long lost halves of a whole were being reunited as they joined together. Allia's mind went blank as she could only think of the gratification Jacob was bringing upon her.

Jacob's eyes were closed and he couldn't think of anything except Allia—her smile, her laugh, her eyes, her personality—_everything_. He then looked down at her body which was in rhythm with his own as her hips met his.

She was biting down on her lower lip fiercely and her eyes were half closed. She arched her back at that instant and moaned his name out. Jacob leaned down and reconnected his lips with hers, pushing his tongue into her mouth.

Jacob pulled away to let Allia breath as she reached yet another climax, and Jacob realized that he, too, was nearing one as well.

"Jake, faster... go faster...!"

He smirked and obliged immediately, picking up one of her legs to get better access. In exhilaration, she moaned loudly, and seeing her do so made Jacob do the same as he reached his own orgasm. Allia could feel a new hotness gush inside her and she moaned softly as it filled her up.

Jacob collapsed beside her and stared at her in awe. Allia carried a new glow around her, and he knew that she was definitely something else. She had the same value as his imprint. How she did, he didn't know, and probably never would... but she did. And that was all that mattered.

Allia looked at him with her deep blue pools, and licked her lips, sighing contently as she scooted closer towards him. Subconsciously, his arm moved up and around her shoulders, helping her along till she was laying partially on his chest comfortably.

"I love you, Jacob Black..."


	17. Imprint

My eyelids opened slowly, and I saw the world around me. It was still dark, and my blue orbs darted toward the alarm clock that rested upon the nightstand.

_It's only 2:45 in the morning...?_

I looked up and saw Jacob snoring away beneath me. I smiled remembering what had happened between the two of us. We had made love. And it was by far the best experience of my life—probably always will be.

_Snap out of it. _I ordered.

I carefully climbed out of the bed and walked over to my dresser, slipping on some clothes before grabbing a duffel bag from the closet. I stashed a few extra clothes inside of it and then walked towards the door. I took a quick glance back at Jacob, admiring his body and presence.

_No matter what..._"I'll always love you..." I breathed out.

I closed the door and walked silently down the hallway. I passed Sam and Emily's room, and decided to walk in, searching for what I hoped to find. I opened dresser drawers and looked under the furnishings, and I still hadn't found it.

"Shit..." I cursed.

_Where the hell could it be...?_

I walked inside the closet and looked on the rack at the very top. I saw a box buried under some clutter and got a good feeling from my gut. I pushed a chair to the closet and stood on it as I reached for the box. I maneuvered it out from under other objects without making a sound and opened it up on the bed.

_Bingo._

There was a wad of twenties in a rubber band I snatched it quickly as if it would disappear into thin air if I didn't. I put it into my pant pocket and saw Emily's passport inside the shoe box as well. I knew that I would need a passport to leave the country, but obviously I didn't have one.

I stared at the photo of Emily that stared right back at me. _I wish I could look like her... Then getting through security wouldn't be a problem._

I looked at the details of Emily's face. I took it all in: her straight jet black hair, caring chocolate eyes, sun-kissed tan skin, the scars that marred her... everything. I opened my eyes and looked at my light brown hair, holding it into my hands, playing with the strands.

My eyes widened in shock and I dropped the strands I played with as they went from chestnut to black. _What the hell..._I picked up my hair again and sure enough, it wasn't my imagination—my hair was now blacker than coal.

I looked at the vanity mirror that rested upon the dresser and saw that the rest of my body was now going under a metamorphosis as well. My skin went from it's fair tone to copper in minutes, my blue eyes grew darker until they were an endless brown, and across my face, diagonal lines started to become visible, turning into the scars that she carried.

"Oh my God..." I mumbled, not only had my body changed, but my voice now sounded identical to hers. I touched my face and couldn't believe this was real. _This was probably one of the powers the Volturi wants to change me for..._

Without wasting time, I snatched up the passport and made a mad dash towards the door, stopping when I felt guilty. I was doing something horrible to them after they had been nothing but kind to me. What kind of a person was I?

I looked at the bed and noticed that a notepad was inside the box along with some new ballpoint pens. I grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote a small message, leaving it on the dresser for them to find easily.

After that, I was sprinting down the road and hoping that the guys weren't patrolling around the area.

It seemed that tonight was my night, and I had made it into Forks without a single run-in with the guys. I wandered into the town and saw a taxi dropping someone off. I ran to the cab before it could take off and got inside.

"Where to?" The scruffy looking man inquired.

"Airport..." I huffed.

"Which one?"

"The closest one."

"Port Angeles it is."

The man began to drive down the street and I gave a soft sigh of relief. _I might be able to make it. _ I thought. _I just hope this appearance will last till I get to the airport._

-{}-

"Jacob, wake up you son of a _bitch_!"

I shot upwards in the bed and looked to find the entire pack surrounding me. Embry looked ready to kill and I noticed the lack of another body that was supposed to be here.

_Fuck..._

"What the hell happened?" I mumbled, grabbing my head.

"You tell us, jackass!" Embry shouted. "You were supposed to make sure she didn't fucking leave, you dipshit, not have sex and fall asleep!"

"Embry, calm down now. I know you're upset, we all are, but we need to try and keep ourselves in check." Sam stated.

"Sam, you can't be fucking serious!"

"_Embry._" Sam glared at the rebelling teen before turning to Jacob, tossing him his shorts that were on the floor. "Explain. Now."

"We talked. I kissed her. It got farther than I expected it would. We passed out. That's all that I can remember." I answered, putting on my shorts underneath the blanket that covered my lower half. "Why did I kiss her...?" I mumbled, guilt taking me over as I thought of Renesmee.

This ongoing internal fight was making me go insane. I loved Renesmee one moment, and Allia the next. _The cables..._I thought. Most had snapped away from Renesmee and attached themselves to Allia by now.

Now only _one_remained...

And it was the strongest of them all.

It couldn't possibly be broken...

"Okay, seriously. Let's get out of here and start looking for her, she could be anywhere!" Embry yelled, already racing out of the room.

"Everyone out. Paul, Jared, Seth, and Leah, you stay here and search the woods for anything. Embry, Quil, Jacob, and I will go into town to see if we can pick up her scent." Sam instructed, and immediately we were all running out of the house.

"Sam!" The pack came to a halt and stared at Emily who had dried tear stains on her cheeks. She held up a phone and held it out to him. "It's Carlisle."

_What the hell does the bloodsucker want right now...?_I thought, becoming infuriated that he was wasting our precious time.

Sam stared at it in confusion, which then turned to anger before he grabbed it. "Yes, Carlisle?" He listened to the bloodsucker and we weren't able to make out what he was saying because of a bad connection. "She was? Okay..." There was another long pause before Sam thanked Carlisle and turned to us.

"Bella was driving home from Charlie's when she said she saw Emily getting into a taxi cab." Sam explained.

"But Emily was with Sue and Claire!" Quil yelled in confusion. "She can't be at two places at once!"

"_Exactly_. That wasn't Emily. It was Allia, you idiot." Leah barked.

"Oh..."

"Bella said she overheard them talking and that the driver was taking her to Port Angeles Airport." Sam declared. "I still want you four to stay and patrol here just in case." He looked at Paul, Jared, Seth and Leah with authority and they then sprinted out into the woods obediently. "Jacob, you and Embry take the Rabbit and Quil and I'll take my truck. We're driving over to the airport."

"Sam," Emily called.

He turned to his imprint and looked at her curiously. "Yea, Em?"

"She left this..."

My blood ran cold as I grew nervous. What had she left...?

She handed him a piece of paper and Sam read it aloud. "You've all been the greatest thing to ever happen to me. You have to understand that this is something that I have to do and it's something I have to do alone. It's my responsibility and I'm willing to die for it. I'm sorry for everything. If we meet again, I hope you can forgive me. I love you all... Allia Accalia."

Emily began to cry softly and Sam enveloped her in a hug, rubbing her back comfortingly. "Jacob, Embry, get going." He ordered. "Who knows how much time we have..."

Without another word, Embry and I were sprinting into the trees.

_Why are you trying to be the hero, Allia?_I thought, shifting along with Embry and heading in the direction of my house.

-{}-

"Alright, Ms. Young, everything seems to be in order. Enjoy your flight."

I accepted the plane ticket with a smile. "Thank you for helping me, Terri." I responded, noticing her name tag.

I walked away briskly and felt my stomach grumble. I looked at the current time, which was 3:25, and compared it with the departure time. _I've got enough time to eat something quickly._

I headed into a Starbucks and got in line. As I reached the counter, I ordered a small coffee to keep myself awake and alert, and I also ordered a bagel to nibble on. I received both of my items within minutes and sat at one of the empty round tables. I relaxed into the cushioned chair and enjoyed my small meal as I gazed out into the crowd of people that headed to their gates and to the exits.

I choked on my bagel when I saw them. _What the hell are Embry and Jacob doing here?_

I stood up from the table, not caring if I left my things, and hid behind a wall. I saw both boys separate and walk in different directions as they continued their search for what I suspected to be me.

Suddenly the airport's intercom went off, announcing that my flight was beginning to commence the boarding process.

_Perfect timing._

I took a deep breath to calm my rattling nerves and soon began to jog towards my gate, trying to not attract too much attention to myself.

"There you are!" Someone yanked me back and I saw Embry there, a stern look upon his face. "Allia, what the _hell_? Why are you doing this?"

_Play the part..._ I told myself. "Allia? Embry, it's me, _Emily_! Isn't it obvious?"

He eyed me up for a moment before shaking his head. "Allia, I'm not going to fall for this. This isn't funny. C'mon, we're going home. We'll deal with those leeches together." He said.

"Embry, Sam saw Allia going that way. Him and Jake were going to ambush her."

"Well, come on then, _Emily_." He retorted, pulling me along. "Let's help ambush her."

"Wait...!"

He stared at me with slits for eyes. "What is it?" He growled.

"I have to use the restroom. You can stand outside and wait for me, I mean... I've got nothing to hide."

He gazed at me suspiciously. "Make it quick."

The two of us walked towards the entrance of the womens' bathroom and he stood leaning against the wall as I walked inside, closing the door behind me.

_Shit, what am I going to do now...?_

The toilet flushed and a girl who looked around eighteen exited the stall, her carry on suitcase being lugged out behind her. I gazed at her through the corner of my eye, studying her. She had the skin of a porcelain doll, looking frail and damageable, her golden locks of straight hair fell neatly upon her shoulders, and reached as far as her lower back. I could see her pale green eyes from the mirror and feel the innocence that radiated off of them, and her voice was warm as honey as she hummed a sweet tune to herself.

I looked back into the mirror and stiffened as I noticed that I had transformed from Emily and into this mysterious new person.

She had dried her hands by now and turned to see me, a copy of herself. "Wh-wha..." Her eyes then rolled up into her head as she fainted.

I was able to catch her before she hit the ground and was having a mental breakdown. This was _not_supposed to happen.

I ended up putting her inside the handicap stall, carrying her luggage into the stall with her so no one would steal her things. I looked at my duffel bag that I still had and bit my lip.

"I'm so sorry," I mumbled to the girl, even though she wasn't able to hear me.

I then began to empty her luggage and put my things into her own suitcase. I looked down at the clothes I wore, my signature cropped top, shorts, and gladiator sandals, and groaned. _I'm going to hell for this..._

I took one of her outfits and exchanged them quickly, slipping them on with ease. I locked the stall and crawled underneath the door, disgusted, but not willing to make a big fuss over it at the time. I fixed my new disguise and was soon walking out the door, acting confident.

A hand grabbed my forearm and I looked back to see Embry staring me down. He sighed and let me go. "I'm sorry... I thought you were someone else."

"It's... fine." I mumbled, walking away quickly with my luggage.

I power walked towards my gate and would occasionally see Sam, Quil, and Jacob pass me by, not noticing me for a minute. I was thankful that I had run into that girl, without her, I would've been caught for sure.

I looked around to see if one of the guys was around and I sighed when I noticed they weren't. I went behind a corner and envisioned Emily in my mind, and I saw the change taking place before my eyes. I did a quick look around and saw Jacob scanning the area for me. I hid as his eyes grew closer to me, and I looked back again a few moments later to see that he had his back turned to me, looking in a different area.

I sprinted towards gate and handed the stewardess my ticket. "Ah, you're lucky Ms. Young, we were just about to stop the boarding process." She spoke.

I looked over my shoulder to see Jacob staring directly at me, mouth hanging open. He had no doubt heard the loudmouth from across the room with his sensitive hearing. He didn't waste time sprinting towards us and I headed down the corridor rapidly. The stewardess closed the door behind me and I could hear her typing in the code to lock the door.

"Open it! Please! I have to talk to her!" Jacob shouted, banging on the door.

My feet came to a halt and I stopped walking to hear the conversation.

"I'm sorry, sir. I can't do that." She answered.

"You have to! I need to talk to her!"

"Sir, I'm afraid that if you don't leave, I'll be forced to call security."

"_Please_, I'm begging you! It's important!"

"Sir, this is your last chance. Please leave."

I heard Jacob yell in frustration as he punched the door furiously. With that, I continued making my way down the small hallway, boarding the plane without a problem. I walked towards my seat, put my suitcase into the storage above, and sat in my seat beside the window.

The plane began to back out of the terminals and towards the runways, the stewardesses explaining the mandatory safety procedures until we were ready to take off.

"Allia!"

My head snapped towards the small window and I saw Jacob running up to the plane, which was now beginning to move forward. Jacob kept up with the plane for a few seconds before the machine slowly began to lose him.

"Stop!" He yelled. "Don't go!"

I frowned at the boy. "I love you." I mouthed silently, and pulled down the plastic blind to shield my eyes from his tear stained face.

Tears were now pricking at my eyes and I was wondering if I had truly made the right decision in leaving La Push, my second home.

And in leaving Jacob Black... my _imprint_.


	18. Baby Girl

The entire house was silent. It was eerie in a way. The silence that inhabited the home was something that hardly ever happened, and whenever it did, it was usually a sign of bad news.

We all stared at different areas of Sam's house, remembering what Allia had done there. Whether it be helping Emily in the kitchen, watching television in the living room, or even eating a meal with the rest of us at the dinner table, we reminisced.

Each and every one of us was thinking the same thing...

_I can't believe she's really gone..._

It wouldn't stop. My mind wouldn't let me rest or forget about what had happened. It was as if it was happening over and over again in real time.

_My legs carried me out of the building, security hot on my trail as I raced down the asphalt runways. My heart was about ready to jump out of my chest from adrenaline, if not that than from the fear of losing her._

The plane's engine roared loudly as it slowly made its way down the path. I began to push myself as I saw what was Emily's tanned skin and jet black hair, knowing that beneath that disguise was Allia.

"Allia!" I shouted as loud as I could, praying, hoping that she would somehow hear me through all the chaos. My legs went that much faster when I saw her head turn and stare down at me through the small window. I could see her perfectly, I could see Allia beneath the disguise. I could see her image perfectly.

I then realized that the plane was going much faster and was losing me. "Stop! Don't go!"

Emily's familiar face gave a frown, and I could see Allia's pained deep blue eyes in the back of my mind. Her lips moved, mouthing words unknown to me, and soon the plane left me in the dust as it left the ground, soaring into the air.

I panted heavily as my legs buckled, giving out on me and letting me fall to the ground. It wasn't much longer before airport security escorted me away.

Why had she gone? She knew that we would've been more than willing to help her fight off the Volturi and anything else they had in their arsenal.

I think I knew why though. I hadn't persuaded her enough. I hadn't made it clear. I hadn't shown her how much we cared about her.

"It's all my fault that she's gone..." I mumbled.

No one said a word, and I could feel many pairs of eyes land upon me. Deep down they knew that they blamed me, however, they didn't want to vocalize their opinions. They didn't want to fan the flames, add salt to an open wound...

A chair moved and everyone but me acknowledged it. "No, it's not, Jacob." I looked up to find an expressionless Embry standing before me. "I think we all knew deep down that Allia... that Allia was just a lost cause all along."

"Don't say that." I hissed. "She was never, and will never be, a lost cause, Embry. I would've thought _you_of all people would know that."

"Jacob, stop lying to yourself. You never cared about her. You never _will_." He retorted. "Stop pretending."

"I wouldn't have chased an airplane down a fucking runway if I didn't care about her, Embry!" I shouted angrily, furrowing my eyebrows.

"It's obvious that you did that just to keep everyone happy here, Jacob!" He responded, his hands balling up into fists. "You did it to try and correct something that you did wrong! Not for any other reason!"

Throughout our fight, no one said a word. Not even Sam who didn't even bother to pay attention until I had tried to take a swing at Embry.

"Take it outside." He mumbled.

Embry and I growled lowly at each other before stalking out of the house and into the woods so no one would be able to hear.

"You're wrong Embry, I care about her."

"_Why_? Why would you care about her?" He shouted. "You're such a fucking liar, Jacob Black." He growled.

I couldn't help myself, and my body exploded. Fur covered my entire body as it grew more than two times its size, everything changing in my mind.

I charged at Embry as I finished shifting, and by that time, he had just finished as well. I bit into him, tasting fur and flesh in my mouth. I didn't care for it, but taking out my anger felt good, and at the moment, I didn't really care about who I took it out on. Besides, it was Embry who had provoked me in the first place...

_I was the one who cared for her the most, Black! You didn't give a shit about her up until recently!_

I let him go and he went at me with his large, strong jaws, causing me to snap defensively right back at him. _I have an imprint, Embry! I have Renesmee!_

_She told you didn't she?_ He yelled, still trying to get me between his teeth to return the favor. _She told you about it! Her imprinting and who she did it on!_

_She said... she said it was me._ The two of us stopped fighting, but both of us still stood our ground, heads low and ready to charge again at one another without hesitation. And I was the first one to do it. _But I can never return those feelings...! I have Renesmee!_

_Then why did you betray Renesmee?_ He retorted, defensively headbutting me in the side, sending me to the ground. _Why did you have sex with Allia, who _isn't _your imprint!_

_I don't know! It was the heat of the moment!_I lamely replied.

_We _both _know that that is complete and utter bullshit, Jacob!_ Embry roared. _Tell me why! I want to know! Why, Jacob... Why did you do it?_

Tears built up in my eyes, and I jumped at Embry. Losing all my animal traits as I shifted back into my human form, I tackled Embry who soon reverting back as well, realizing the lack of a threat.

"Because I fucking _love_her with everything in me, that's why Goddamnit!" I shouted madly, the tears leaving my eyes as I gripped Embry's wrists tightly, digging my nails into his flesh.

And then it happened.

From within my mind, I could hear it occurring. The whine and groan of the metal as it began to stretch, the strong material becoming thinner and scrawny as it began to reach its limits. I could see the alloy shiver as it tried to stay intact, for it to remain as it was.

I could not only feel, but see the disconnection. I watched in awe as the last, supposedly indestructible cable crumbled away like nothing, letting Renesmee's image to go farther away into a black abyss, becoming transparent, and finally becoming nonexistent.

_Allia..._

I watched as her perfect form appeared in my psyche and my heart sped up as she became clear and less blurry, like an image coming into focus through a camera lens. Allia's image smiled and she extended her hand out for me to take, which I did so eagerly and without another thought. As our fingers met and intertwined, she began to be pulled back gently by an invisible force, and she gracefully moved through the darkness, the illuminating glow she had never fading, if anything growing brighter. As our hands grew apart, a metal cable appeared, much like the one that had broke away from Renesmee.

However... this one was stronger, reinforced with millions of new cables that surrounded it protectively.

I knew for a fact that this one... this one would never give way. This was _permanent_.

Had I just _switched_ imprints...? Was that even _possible_...?

I snapped back into reality to find Embry staring down at me expressionlessly. How had I gotten onto the floor when I clearly remembered tackling him to the ground?

"What the hell just happened with you? You just blanked out completely."

"I... I don't know, but... I love her. I love Allia. She's... she my _imprint_and I'm hers."

Slowly, but surely, a smile made it's way upon his face and he extended his arm out. "Are you going to get up from the ground now, or what?" He helped me up and I dusted myself free of dirt and anything else that clung onto my sweaty body. "So now what are you going to do about Allia? She's _gone_..."

"Don't say that."

"Fine, but it doesn't change anything, Jacob."

I didn't even need to really think about it. "I'm gonna do something stupid." I replied, beginning to walk away back towards Sam's.

"You've already done that," Embry commented.

"Then I'm gonna do something absolutely insane." I mumbled. "I'm gonna bring her home."

"That's what I wanted to hear."

-{}-

"Thank you for being cooperative, Ms. Young, and welcome to Italia." A customs officer spoke kindly.

"Grazi," I replied, giving a smile to show him my gratitude.

I walked out of the customs office and into the main building of the airport. I wandered into the ladies room and got into a stall. I could immediately feel the metamorphosis take place and once again, I was back to normal. _Thank God._

I casually strolled out of the cubicle with my luggage and towards the mirror, fixing my appearance before leaving the restroom. Briskly walking through the large hallways, I was wondering what my next plan of action would be.

_Where do I go? They never told me and I don't know off the top of my head where they stay._

I thought back to the day this all began. I remembered Aro telling me what was in it for me if I went with them. My father would be let free and the Cullens and the Pack wouldn't be brought into the situation.

Then I remembered something critical. _"If you agree... come back _home_."_

_I've gotta go back home._

Immediately I grabbed a cab, taking it from the airport to Pienza in the region of Tuscany. I couldn't believe that I was going home after all this time.

The ride felt like it took hours, but as we got farther along, the minutes seem to go by faster than seconds. I paid the cab driver what I had left, telling him to keep the change—what would _I_need money for now?—and soon walking through the brush towards my home.

My home had been abandoned when my mother and I left back in the early 1900's. Since it was hidden within the small woods that Pienza had to offer, I wasn't suprised to see my old home looking old and ruin as weeds, moss, and insects plagued it.

I pushed open the front door forcefully as it nearly came off it's rusted old-fashioned hinges, and jumped in surpise at what I saw.

"Dad..."

He looked up at me with one of his smiles, at which my heart nearly broke in two once I noticed that it was done half-heartedly. "Allia..." He stood up and I noticed that he had been occupying himself with one of my old dolls from my childhood. "How are you...?"

"Fine, but Dad... if you're here... why don't you just escape right now? We can leave together! We'll never come back! We'll be a family again! I'll make sure that your being a vampire and my being a shifter doesn't change a thing, Daddy!"

"Allia, I cannot." He sighed in defeat, placing the doll onto the dusted and antique looking table. "They've told me that if I try, they'll kill you and the Cullens. I can't risk your life or the life of my friend and his family. I would never consider it."

I felt tears swell up in my blue orbs, and they poured over, cascading down my cheeks. "Why did this all have to happen...?"

He disregarded my question and enveloped me in a hug, soothing me by rubbing my back. "Come with me, Allia. If I don't bring you back to them by days end, they'll surely do something irrational." He said. "I'll make sure that you're protected. I won't let them hurt you. I plan on keeping the promise I made to you as a baby. No one's going to harm my baby girl."


	19. Faith

To be honest, I didn't really care about the sickeningly sweet odor the leeches reeked of as the pack and myself sat in their living room. I was far too concerned about Allia, about what she was doing, about where she was, but most importantly about _how_she was. The simple thought of her being in pain or feeling afraid sent pangs throughout my entire body.

The Cullens didn't know what to say after we had explained the current situation. Carlisle, however, was the most worried out of all of them.

"I'm going to go and get her to bring her back." I told them.

"And I'm going with him." Embry added.

"So am I."

We were all shocked to find that Leah had been the one who had spoken.

"Why the hell are _you_going, Leah?" Paul eyed her suspiciously.

"She's helped me out. Besides, I can't even fathom the idea of staying here without an intelligent human being." She replied curtly.

"Bitch." Paul mumbled.

"Of course, I'll be coming along, too." Carlisle declared. "I'll be paying for everyone's transportation."

"I'm going, too." Edward stated.

"Why you?" I couldn't help but ask.

"She was apart of the effort to keep Renesmee safe. I owe her."

Shaking my head, dismissing the matter, I turned towards Carlisle. "When can we leave?"

"I've already bought the tickets." One of the vampires, Alice, replied perkily as she entered the room. "Tomorrow night at around seven is when the plane departs."

"_Tomorrow night_...?" I bellowed. "She might not have that long!"

"There were no earlier flights." Alice responded, a bit of an edge to her voice.

"Stop complaining, mutt. Be glad that we're helping you out." Blondie hissed.

"Rosalie!" Carlisle sent her a warning look.

"We'll be taking our leave now, Carlisle." Sam stated, walking out of the home, the rest of the pack following.

As I reached the front door, I turned to them all. "Thanks for helping."

"Allia means something to us. We're more than happy to help." Carlisle replied, a smile on his pale pink lips.

I only nodded before leaving the premises and dashing home to get a good night's rest.

I entered my humble red home tiredly and dragged my body into bed after stripping down to my boxers. I tossed and turned in my bed, not finding any position to be comfortable in the least.

_How can I sleep when knowing that she's in potential danger...?_

Allia crept into my mind. Her smile flooded my thoughts and I smiled at the simple thought of hearing her infectious laughter accompany her pearly whites. I imagined holding her in my arms, feeling her soft, fair skin against my own. I could feel the tingling sensation on my lips as I thought about her own.

I rolled onto my back as I imagined hearing her sweet heartbeat. It's comforting "th-thump" rhythm acting as a sweet lullaby. I never wanted to hear that heartbeat stop.

_I promise your heartbeat will never stop with me around..._

-{}-

I woke up on my own and realized I had overslept dramatically; it was already going to be 6:45 pm...! I rolled out of bed and headed into the shower, attempting to calm my nerves that were currently going haywire. After getting out and getting dressed, I began to fill a backpack from my old days when I was enrolled in La Push High School with a few clothes. I wasn't exactly planning on staying there for long. I kept telling myself I'd find Allia in no time at all and we'd all head back to the reservation to have a normal life... well, as normal as it could get.

_Then I'll tell her about everything. We'll be together. It'll be perfect._

There was a familiar howl and I looked out my bedroom window to see both Embry and Leah standing at the edge of the woods, waiting for me to come out so we could head to the Cullens'.

I put the backpack over my shoulder and walked out of my room to find my dad parked by the backdoor in his wheelchair. He looked up at me with his dark brown eyes, and they gave a certain glimmer.

"Go get her, Jake." He said with his usual grin.

I smiled before bending over and giving him a hug. "I will, dad. I'll be back soon."

Rushing out of the room and towards the trees, the three of us shifted after passing the first few. We sprinted towards the leeches and shifted back, changing into appropriate attire once we arrived.

Carlisle and Edward were already outside waiting for us. They carried their own backpacks and soon the small vampire came out.

"Are we all here?" Alice inquired, twirling around a set of car keys in her hands.

"Yes. We're ready, Alice." Carlisle replied.

She nodded before practically skipping into the family's garage and driving out of it with an SUV that looked brand new.

"Jacob!"

My head snapped up to find her. My heart didn't feel any sort of tug indicating happiness. I was indifferent. "Embry, take my stuff?"

He nodded solemnly before retrieving my backpack and taking it towards the car where everyone was beginning to load their belongings and themselves into the vehicle.

I sighed as I knelt down to her height. "Hey Renesmee, how are you?"

"Why haven't you been visiting me...?" She inquired sadly, disregarding my earlier question.

"I've been really busy, Nessie."

"Doing what?"

"Things. Nessie I—"

"It's _her_isn't it? That girl Allia?" She whispered. "She's trying to take you away from me...!" Her eyes held tears in them and I could do nothing but wait for them to fall.

"Don't talk about her like that, Nessie. She's a good person." I told her. "I love her."

"So you hate me now..."

"No... no, never. I could never hate you, Nessie." I insisted, wiping away a few tears. "The love I have for you is different. I love you both."

"Jacob, please stay with me..."

"I'm sorry, Nessie. I have to go to Allia. She needs me right now."

"But I need you, too!"

"And I'll come back as soon as I can after Allia's safe and sound."

She sniffled. "Promise...?"

"I pinky promise." I replied, sticking out the last finger on my hand.

She grinned through her tear stained face wrapped her pinky around mine. "I'm holding you to this!" She yelled happily before running up the stairs and into her mother's arms.

"Jake..." Bella began. "Be careful."

I nodded as I began to head towards the car. "I will, goodbye Bells."

-{}-

The plane ride was pure torture. I had never thought such a long flight was possible. Needless to say I was thankful when we had arrived and I eagerly began to stretch my sleeping limbs along with Embry and Leah while Carlisle and Edward began to search for any clues about Allia's whereabouts.

The five of us then walked outside of the airport and looked around, not sure about what to do next.

Suddenly... I smelled it. Her familiar scent.

My heart began to pound in my chest as I grew anxious.

"Where's the smell coming from, Jacob?" Edward questioned.

"This way."

I led everyone towards the cab drivers and found the one that still had the familiar smell of Allia inside. It was faint, but it was there.

"Excuse me," I looked inside the car at the man who was in the driver's seat. "Have you seen—"

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Edward. "Jacob, he doesn't know what you're saying. He's not fluent in English."

I immediately moved to the side as Carlisle took my place, speaking Italian with such ease that I was almost jealous. I wanted to know what he was saying...!

Carlisle smiled at the man, mumbling what I thought was a thank you before leading us away from the car. "The man said he took a girl who looked like Allia to Pienza—"

"That's not where the Volturi are located, Carlisle. Why would she go there?" Edward looked confused before he got a look of realization after reading his mind, no doubt. Edward began to walk away and left all of us except Carlisle wondering where he was going.

"Pienza is Allia's hometown."

"I remember her mentioning it, once or twice." Embry nodded in agreement.

"Yes, we'll be going there first. I know where her home is so we'll find it in no time. Edward is fetching the car that we rented and should be bringing it around soon."

Within a few minutes, another SUV pulled up. It was all black and had dark tinted windows as well, more than likely to block out the sun so the leeches wouldn't sparkle like they usually did in the sunlight.

Everyone got into the car and Edward was soon following Carlisle's instructions on how to reach the home. After pulling up to the side of the road next to some trees, Carlisle led us into them, relying solely on his memory to guide us to the home.

We all saw it soon enough.

It was shabby and looked about ready to collapse. The plants around it were tall and untamed, clinging to the wood tightly.

"Come on,"

Carlisle guided everyone into the house and it looked more homey than the outside. There was furniture that was overrun by insects and cobwebs, some of it tipped over and some of it smashed to pieces. Antique bowls and cups sat upon the table that looked ready to crumble to the ground that was dusty and gray.

Carlisle walked over to a bookshelf before looking through a few books, soon finding the one he wanted. "If I know Phillip..." He murmured to himself, soon smiling as he took out a small piece of parchment.

"What is it?" Leah inquired.

"Phillip always left a note when he knew I'd be coming and didn't know if we'd be able to see each other." Carlisle explained.

"What does it say?" Embry asked.

Carlisle unfolded the paper and read it aloud. "Carlisle. Allia is wanted by the Volturi because of the abilities she inherited from me. She's in grave danger. I understand that you know Volterra is the location of the Volturi, but you mustn't go there. Not yet at least.

"I know for a fact that Aro is keeping her as she is until the first of the upcoming month. That's when they'll force me to take away her shifter gene. They want her as is until the first because they're going to have me teach her how to harness the powers she possesses. They believe that she'll be able to access those abilities easier while she's still a shifter. I believe so as well.

"Carlisle, she needs to know how to do this. These powers will give you all an advantage when you come for her. She'll be able to help fight them off. Come to Volterra on the first, and that's when we'll help her escape. I shall see you soon, my friend."

"He can't be serious. That's _two weeks_from now!" I yelled. "Not to mention the possibility of it being a complete trap for us...!"

"Jacob, I've known Phillip for a long time. He would never do such a thing, especially when concerning Allia. Please... have faith in him."

I scowled before walking out of the home and into the woods, taking out my anger on trees by punching them and leaving slight indents.

That was something I needed a lot of right now... _Faith..._


	20. Now or Never

Two weeks had gone by in the blink of an eye, well, almost two weeks. It was almost unreal in a way, but I feel that I've learned so much more about myself in the past thirteen days than I have in my entire life. It was all thanks to my dad, and I know that if it weren't for him, I'd probably be dead by now.

After my dad and I had left our old home to continue to rot in the middle of the night, he and I made our way to Volterra to meet the Volturi. He was very serious as he led me down into the chambers below the city. However, when we arrived in the large room where they were all gathered, it looked somewhat regal with Marcus, Caius, and Aro sitting upon their designated thrones in the middle of the room with their guard surrounding them.

Aro was, naturally, the first to acknowledge my presence by standing up and opening his arms wide in welcome, as if for me to run into them to hug him, while exposing his small and ever-so-phony smile.

"Allia, darling, it's such a pleasure to see you again. I'm very pleased to see that you've decided to take us up on our offer." He greeted me, soon standing right before me, taking my hand and kissing the back of it.

My shifter gene was going haywire with the natural urge to alter and attack... _kill_Aro on-site, along with all the others in the room.

"Hmm... it seems I'm not able to see into your thoughts." Aro's grin grew as the ends of his lips drew upwards. "Perfect. No doubt another ability that you've inherited from your father."

"Probably." I grumbled.

Aro patted my hand softly before letting it go, and my arm fell to the side of my body limply. "So, I'm sure that you're wondering why you're here, right Allia?"

"How'd you know?" I replied with a bit of an edge in my voice.

The blond girl from the clearing — Jane, I believe her name was, hissed at me cruelly. "Don't talk to him like that. Show some respect for those better than you, mutt."

"Jane!" Aro yelled, staring angrily at the girl. "What did I tell you about how to treat our special guests...?"

"I'm sincerely sorry, Aro."

"Yes, well... see to it that it doesn't happen again, Jane."

Jane nodded her head with a bow, and Aro's eyes landed upon me once more. "So would you care to know, Allia?" I nodded my head in response and he began to explain.

"You see, your father has been a great contributor to this coven because of his powers. However, we're now finding that his power... is diminishing, making him no longer useful to us." He looked over at my dad with a smile and then turned back to me. "This is where you come in, Allia. We remembered about Phillip's only child and we figured that you _had_to have inherited some sort of gene from your father."

"And so now you plan to change me to join the coven in place of my dad."

"Precisely."

"When do you plan on doing this?"

"That, my dear, Allia, I'm afraid is a secret." Aro answered, turning around and walking back to his large chair in the middle of Caius and Marcus, sitting down and crossing his legs comfortably. "Until then, you will be treated no differently then the others in this coven. You will have your own room and are free to explore our home whenever you like. You are allowed to go outside, however, you must be accompanied by someone."

"If you do not adhere to these rules, your privileges will be taken and you will be accompanied by someone at all times." Caius declared.

Since then, I've been training nonstop with my dad and finding out different skills I never knew I had. I've been able to control my abilities much easier and feel comfortable using them.

I've learned that I can move items with telepathy, I can not only control fire, but earth as well, and I can also control someone's actions with my mind, though it takes so much energy that I feel too drained afterwards, and so I've been instructed to not use this unless in life threatening situations. My dad has also been instructing me on how to create tonics and such to help heal injuries and illnesses.

"Very good, Allia." My dad commented as he staggered back, panting and catching his breath. He and I had just finished training. We had been perfecting all of my moves. We had just wrapped up training my telepathic abilities.

"Thanks," I replied, slightly panting as well.

"Let's be done training for tonight."

"Alright, sounds good."

"Here," He held out a small vial with a transparent concoction inside it. "This will help you fall asleep and take away any soreness you might have from all this training tonight."

"Thanks daddy," I smiled, hugging him. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Allia. I'll see you in the morning."

I sauntered tiredly down the cobblestone corridors until reaching my room. I pushed open the polished wooden door and closed it behind myself. I changed into a nightgown that was —reluctantly — given to me by Jane, and got settled into bed. I picked up the small container that my dad a given me and then drank it eagerly. Immediately I felt the effects.

My entire body became numb and the world began to sway around me. I fell backwards onto the pillows behind me and felt my eyelids cover my blue orbs, shrouding me in darkness. Within seconds, I was in a dream...

I was back home. The house wasn't surrounded by weeds and didn't look like it had days ago. I curiously headed towards the door and into the home. The furniture wasn't broken or dirty, the floors looked swept, and the air wasn't musty and hard to breathe.

My heartstrings were pulled as I remembered memories from my childhood.

"Allia..." I spun around and saw my dad standing in the door frame.

"Hey dad."

"Allia, this isn't a dream. The potion that you drank, that was a special serum that I made to connect your dreams with my thoughts. Listen carefully."

"What's wrong, dad?"

"Tomorrow they're planning on changing you. They're going to have me create a potion that will take out the shifter gene. However, I know that Carlisle will be here tomorrow, most likely with Jacob to come and save you."

"What's going to happen when they do come?"

"I'm not sure. There has never been an attack on the Volturi on their own turf. This is like suicide mission." He replied. "Allia, you have to use your powers. Promise me that you'll use your powers to escape, that you'll do what I tell you when I tell you so you can make it out of here alive."

"I promise, I will." I nodded my head and he walked up to me, enveloping me in a hug.

"Thank you, Allia. I feel so much more at ease knowing this."

"But dad, what happens to you?"

"Allia, I will do everything in my power to make it out." He said. "But I'm not promising anything."

I was then brought out of my dream by being tapped on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and saw Felix above me.

"Breakfast," He grunted, soon leaving the room and closing the door.

I saw before me my usual meal of eggs, toast, and sausage on a silver plate, a tall glass of orange juice to drink along with it. "Thank you." I replied tiredly, knowing that with his sensitive hearing he could catch my words of gratitude through the door.

After eating and getting ready for the day in my usual clothing, I took a deep breath. Today was possibly my last day as a shifter, and possibly my first as a vampire...

_What am I gonna do...?_

In all honesty, I was starting to worry. I didn't want to become a... a _monster_. I wanted to stay as I was. I wanted to remain a shifter. My thoughts traveled to Jacob. What would he do if he found out about this metamorphosis...?

I could only think of one logical explanation. He would hate me.

It would be second nature to him.

Maybe if I was lucky, when I lost the shifter gene, I would lose my imprint as well. Then I wouldn't have to go through such misery...

There was a knock on my door and my dad walked in.

"Allia..." He said. "It's time."

I nodded solemnly and walked over to him. "Let's go."

We walked down the corridors and into the large room where everyone was gathered. Aro rose from his chair and Caius and Marcus remained sitting.

"Ah, Allia. It's nice to see you again." He said, clapping his hands together as he made his way down to the few stairs to meet me. "Today... today is the day where you will be able to join us... _become_one of us." Aro turned to my dad and nodded at him. "Go fetch it, won't you, Phillip?"

My dad then sped off quickly and returned with a vial filled with a black liquid, handing it to Aro carefully. "Here it is."

"Thank you, Phillip."

My dad stood next to me and Aro smiled wickedly. "This concoction your father prepared is designed to rip that horrid shifter gene from you, making you like him."

"After I drink this will you let my dad go?"

"Why of course, I'm a man of my word."

Aro removed the cap on the vial and held it in front of me. I slowly extended my arm out and received the container from his grasp. I lifted it up to my lips and took a deep breath.

_It's now or never._

I tipped the vile and the liquid came rushing into my mouth. The rancid substance tasted vinegary and burned my throat as it fizzed its way down my esophagus.

I took the glass bottle away from my lips and stared at the floor.

_What have I just done...?_


	21. Hang On for Me

"_ALLIA_!"

My body spun around as I heard my name yelled by a familiar voice, making my heart thump with excitement. Jacob stood in the middle of Embry, Leah, Edward, and Carlisle. I smiled at the sight of them standing there, but it fell once I realized that for this... they could possibly lose their _lives_.

I wanted to scream at them to go away so they wouldn't get hurt by them, so they could survive the counter attack the Volturi would surely launch in their defense. However, I couldn't. I was too awestruck by Jacob — I was so happy that I was seeing him again...! I cursed the imprint that still caused me to act like a love struck idiot.

"It seems we have some unwanted visitors." Aro declared. "Carlisle, what is the meaning of this?"

"Aro, _please_ hear me out. We can't let Allia stay here. She doesn't belong here. You cannot _change_her...!"

"Oh, but she soon will, Carlisle." Aro retorted. "She'll soon become apart of our coven... as one of _us_."

"You can't be serious, Aro...!" Carlisle burst.

Embry, Leah, and Jacob began to growl, slowly advancing on them as they got ready to shift. Carlisle and Edward held them back though, preventing them from doing something reckless, something they would surely regret.

"Keep those _mongrels_in check, Carlisle." Caius sneered.

"Carlisle, my dear friend... I'm afraid that if you do not leave at this very moment, our friendship will not be the only thing dead." Aro stated.

I stared at them, wanting for them to go and make it out of here alive, however... I didn't want to be left alone. I have to admit, this whole ordeal had been more than I was expecting, and to tell the truth, I was scared about turning into a vampire.

"Don't be scared, Allia. We're getting you out of here." Edward reassured.

"Is that right, Edward?" Aro questioned. "Then it seems we must settle this another way." Aro walked to his chair and sat upon it, crossing his legs and getting comfortable, meshing his hands together as he smiled his wicked smile and spoke the words that made my knees buckle. "Kill the mutts and the two Cullens."

Embry, Leah, and Jacob shifted instantly and began to attack along with Edward and Carlisle. My shifter gene was going haywire at the sight of them going at the Volturi. _I have to shift._I told myself, and so I tried to.

An electrical surge went throughout my entire body and I winced in pain. What was going on...?

_The potion._ I thought. _It's preventing me from shifting...!_

"Jane, take care of them." Aro ordered.

"With pleasure."

The girl turned her attention towards the fighting vampires and wolves and they began to scream and whine in pain. I glared at the girl and did what I had to do. The earth began to rattle, and Jane became distracted, losing focus on the guys and Leah which allowed them to be free of her ability.

"Allia, what are you doing?" Marcus demanded.

"Allia, stop this abhorrent behavior immediately!" Aro growled.

The earth moved more violently and everyone had to manage their balance.

"Allia, stop this _now_!" Aro yelled.

With a sudden jolt, the ground stopped moving and everyone stared at me.

I turned to face them and stared at them expectantly. "Well...?" I questioned. "What are you waiting for an invitation?" I stared at Jane and cracked my knuckles. "You're mine... _bitch_."

She growled and looked at Aro. "Aro..."

"If Allia wishes to fight and be resistant..." He began. "We must simply put her in her place. Just don't _kill_her, Jane."

With Aro's on killing me, I assumed that Jane would do everything to put me on the edge between life and death. From what I heard from the other Volturi members... she was good at that.

Jane looked back over at me with a demented smirk and a gleam in her eyes. "Time to be put in your place... you insolent _mutt_."

We were both about to take a running charge at one another, however, Jacob's russet fur body jumped in between us. Jacob growled viciously at her and she laughed cockily.

"I'm afraid not even your stupid mongrel friend will be of much help against me."

"Jake, please... go with the others. Jane's _mine_." I began. "Please, I'll be fine."

"Yes, you wouldn't want to make a bigger fool of yourself, now would you?" Jane taunted.

"Jake, go now. This is my fight."

He snarled viciously at Jane once more before speeding off to help the others who were doing an alright job of holding their own against the other members of the Volturi guard.

I unhooked the button on my cape and it fell to the ground quietly, Jane doing the same with her own cape.

"Are you ready?" She hissed.

"Yes, but I don't think you are."

Jane ran at me using her superhuman speed and I was knocked back into a wall, not being able to brace myself with enough time. "Who isn't ready _now_...?" She mumbled.

I ran at Jane after getting up from the ground and she easily evaded the attack. I kept doing this for a few punches and when she wasn't expecting it, I concentrated on the ground and a large slab rose up. Not aware of it, she stepped into it and I was able to land a punch, my hand lighting on fire, causing her to hiss in pain.

This continued for a few minutes, occasionally I'd land a few good punches on her, while Jane would always knock the air out of me. I was definitely outmatched. However, I wasn't going to give up.

I looked over my shoulder quickly to see that everyone was running out of steam, while the Volturi guard was still going strong. _They're not going to be able to last much longer..._

I sent Jane flying and skidding onto her back with a ground column that shot up from the side and hit her directly. I felt so tired already. I knew I couldn't keep doing this forever, especially not when everyone else was risking their life for me.

I knew what I had to do instantly.

Jane got back up and dusted herself off, glaring daggers at me and I knew she was going to go charging at me like she always did. Just as I expected she did, however, I was able to brace myself and able to just stumble backwards instead of flying back. I rebounded and went charging right back at her. She lost her footing and I was able to place my palm on her forehead, my eyes closed as I began to concentrate on my goal.

Coldness engulfed Jane and I. I could feel the power she had inside her, the ability she held. As I went deeper into her subconscious I let my mind take over hers. Jane was resilient, and wouldn't give up without a fight. However, I was able to overtake her and soon I was in control of her body and her actions.

I opened my eyes again and saw that Jane was staring at me with an expressionless face. I removed my hand from her forehead and envisioned what I wanted her to do next. Jane was then walking up towards Aro, Caius, and Marcus.

"Jane, what are you doing?" Aro growled.

"What I tell her to do." I answered Aro.

"You are in control of her?"

"Yes, I am. Now here comes the fun part. You are going to be making a deal, Aro, I know that you're a man of your word."

"That may be so, Allia. However, you have nothing to hold against me. It seems as if you're at a slight disadvantage."

"No, I think you're wrong about that."

"Allia, I know what you intend to do with Jane. You plan on using her ability against us." Aro smirked. "Alec will—"

"Alec will _what_, Aro?" Edward questioned, holding Alec from behind. "Jacob, Embry, Leah... you know what to do."

The three of them then attacked Alec as Edward jumped away, letting the wolves mutilate his body. Aro, Caius and Marcus stared at the sight in shock, watching one of their most valued coven members being killed before their eyes, his screams of pain ringing in their ears. As soon as they backed away from what was left of his body, I let fire dance on the palm of my hand before I shot it off at his body, and it soon became engulfed by flames.

"Do you want to reconsider, Aro?" I inquired.

Aro glared at me and knew that he had no other choice with Alec gone. "What are your demands, Allia?"

"You're going to let us leave here and you and your coven will leave me, my family and friends _alone_. You do not associate with any of them in any way , shape or form. You will not threaten the Cullens, the shape shifters, or me. You will not send anyone to contact us for whatever reason. Basically you stay out of our lives for the rest of eternity."

Aro's glare hardened and I had never seen him so angered before. "Leave. _Now_." He hissed.

Everyone headed for the door while I stayed where I was. I felt myself slowly detach from Jane who fell to the ground after being let free from my grasp. Jane's eyes landed upon her twin brother's burning corpse and she screamed. She turned to me and was about to charge when Aro stopped her.

"Jane. Stop. Let them leave."

"Why...? They killed Alec...!"

"Do not question me!" Aro yelled, causing Jane to flinch at his tone of voice.

Jacob's furry body walked beside me until we reached the elevator. He would occasionally nudge me with his head and I would smile, patting it softly as we waited.

Without warning, my knees buckled, and I fell to the floor. Darkness consumed my world and my body became numb. I could only hear Jacob's faint plea with me as I began to lose consciousness.

"Allia, please hang on for me...!"


	22. The One for Me

Birds chirped and sang their soft tunes, causing me to wake up to their sweet harmonies. I gave a small smile as I stretched in bed and turned onto my side. Slowly, my eyes opened and I looked at the room that surrounded me.

I knew this place. It was familiar. I sat up in the bed and tossed the blankets to the side. I looked down and noticed my Volturi clothes were off and I was now in one of my old white dresses. I swung my legs over the edge of the furniture and noticed my sandals placed neatly on the floor and so I quickly put them on with little effort.

I patted down my hair, which was surely sticking out at angles that defied the laws of gravity, and straightened out my dress before walking out of the room quietly. As I passed doors and descended the stair case, I realized that this was the Cullen residence, and no one seemed to be home at the current time.

_Well, I know I'm not going to just sit around and wait for someone to show themselves._I told myself.

With a tired sigh, I then made my way to the door and left the premises, walking into the woods to head towards La Push. The fresh air and pine smell never seemed so good to me. I never thought that I would be able to smell this again, so I was definitely enjoying every second.

I passed the stream and knew that I was back onto the guys' territory. I continued on my way and soon was exiting the forest to see the familiar cabin home that I knew to be Emily's and Sam's.

A grin broke out on my face as I sprinted towards the building and up the porch stairs, bursting into the home. "Emily!" I shouted, rushing into the empty kitchen. I ran into the living room next and continued to shout out their names. "Emily! Sam!" There was no noise whatsoever and I grew worrisome.

What if something had happened? What if the Volturi didn't stay true to their end of the deal and attacked them...?

_Don't go off "what if"s, Allia._

After letting out a shaky sigh, I made my way out of the house and onto the porch. My eyes locked onto something moving in the brush and I gazed at the boy who walked out of them, shaking his head as he stared at the dirt ground with his russet skin glistening with what looked to be sweat. I licked my lips as a smile came out. The boy looked up and stopped dead in his tracks, his brown eyes concentrating on my blue ones. His black, shaggy hair clung to his forehead and his eyebrows were raised in slight surprise, and soon an ear-to-ear grin covered his face.

Without warning, the both of us went sprinting towards the other and it felt like we were both moving in slow motion, and our movements were only getting slower the closer we got to one another. Time couldn't have gone any slower. His arms snaked around my waist while mine wrapped around his neck and our lips pressed fiercely against one another in a rough, passionate kiss.

"I thought it lost you...!" Jacob pulled away to tell me through each new kiss. "I thought I lost you...!"

"I was so... scared without you...!" I sobbed out through them.

Jacob pulled away and placed one final kiss on my forehead before pulling me into his body tightly. The force he had was so strong I thought I might just break in two. I didn't mind one bit though, and I welcomed the back-breaking embrace. It let me know that this was really happening.

"Jake... Jake..." Saying his name calmed my nerves and his soft kisses calmed me further. "I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" He asked softly. "I'm listening."

"Before you came in... they had me drink something. When we were fighting I tried shifting, and I couldn't. I felt pain when I tried. They made me drink a potion that would take away the shifter gene, but... I think that wasn't the only thing they took, Jake."

"What do you mean?" He growled, all this talk about the Volturi making him on edge.

"I don't feel it anymore... I don't feel as connected as I was with you. I love you — I always have, but when the gene was taken from me... so was my imprint. You're not my imprint anymore, Jake..." I explained through tears that fell. "But I still feel like something's there... I still _want_there to be something there...!"

All emotion was gone from his face and his thumb caressed my cheek, wiping away tears that he could. "Allia, there's something I have to tell you, too. I never told you that I loved you when we made love, and when you left... I didn't know what to do with myself. Embry and I... we argued and he got me to say that I loved you. When I allowed myself to say those words, it's like I was hit in the head with a sledgehammer." He chuckled to himself .

"You know how imprinting feels like you're connected to that person with all those cables? Well, ever since we kissed playing Truth or Dare those few months ago... it's like all those cables that held me to Renesmee were breaking away and latching onto you instead. When I told you that I loved you... the final thing that had been keeping me with Renesmee broke and from that moment on, I knew you were the one for me. I'm so sorry that it took me so long to realize it, Allia."

"Don't be... I'm... I'm just glad that you love me." I replied shakily with a smile. "_Do_you love me...?"

"More than anything. You're my universe... you're my everything... you're the love of my _life_, Allia Accalia." He kissed my lips gently and then smiled as he pulled away. "I _love_you."

I smiled happily and jumped up, wrapping my legs around Jacob's waist and kissing him fiercely. He reciprocated and pulled me closer to his body, making sure there was no space between us. I pulled away and our foreheads touched.

"I love you, Jacob. Imprint or not."

-{}-

A few months went by and it was as if nothing had really happened. Life was normal and, with the exception of a vampire passing through La Push every once in a while, nothing was wrong. I couldn't be more happier.

Emily had burst into tears when I saw her later that night, and she told me she, herself, would hunt me down and murder me if I ever got another idea like that again. I told her there would be no need, but if something as such ever did happen, I would understand.

I don't know what happened to my father. Maybe he managed to get away from the Volturi, perhaps he had died during the fight. I may never know. I just hoped — wherever he was — that he was well off.

"Allia, Jacob, dinner's ready!" Emily shouted from down below on the ground.

I was currently sitting atop the roof with Jacob. I was between his legs and his arms were wrapped around me to make sure that I didn't fall.

"Coming," I called back.

"Do we have to...?" Jacob whispered in my ear. "We can just sit up here longer, I'm sure they won't mind."

"Do my ears deceive me — is Jacob Ephraim Black opting out of dinner made by Emily Young?" I teased.

"Soon-to-be Uley, but yes, I believe he is." He answered. "Just to spend more time with you."

"Oh, well, I'm hungry... so let's go."

Jacob chuckled and jumped off the house with ease, landing onto his feet gracefully. "Jump, I'll catch you."

"Why does that not make me feel reassured?"

"Oh shut up, you know I'd never let anything happen to you." He retorted.

"Yea, I know." I smiled and then sat on the edge, soon letting myself be taken down by gravity and into Jacob's arms.

He set me onto the ground and the two of us walked into the house, soon sitting down and serving ourselves a plate. The front door swung open and Embry and Leah burst into the home.

"Vampire! And it smells like those Volturi bastards!" Leah shouted.

"What she said...! "Embry huffed out.

"Both of you go to the Cullens and ask them to meet us at the stream. The rest of us will try to lead it there for an ambush." Sam ordered.

Without another word everyone was sprinting out the door, myself following along in the back. Jacob noticed and stopped dead in his tracks.

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere. You're staying here, Allia."

"Jake! C'mon, I wanna go, too!"

"No, stay here _please_. Stay here with Emily."

Not waiting for my reply, he sprinted off into the trees. I sighed and made my way back into the house.

"Don't worry, Allia. I'm sure that they're going to be alright, not to mention the Cullens will be with them." Emily comforted.

"I know... but that's still not enough!" I shouted, sprinting out of the house and after them, Emily's shouts becoming distant in the background.

It took me a few minutes to get far away from the house and soon the large wolf foot prints that I had been using to direct myself became invisible because of La Push's forever changing weather.

_Damn rain..._

Jacob was going to be so furious that I left.

Knowing that I was clearly lost and that my current predicament wasn't in my favor I decided to call for help, hoping that one of the guys would be able to hear me. "Jacob...!" It was silent and I called for him again. "Embry!" I yelled out hopefully.

"Allia..."

I spun around and saw him standing there with a small smile. Tears stung at my eyes and a ball formed in my throat. "Dad!" I shouted, and ran towards him happily.

His arms captured me and we shared a warm embrace that only a father and daughter could have. "I didn't know what happened to you..." I sobbed out.

"I'm so glad that you're safe, Allia."

There was a low growl and I turned to see Jacob, head low and ready to charge. "Jake, no! This is my Dad!" I yelled before he could pounce. "Don't hurt him."

Jacob stopped his growling and lifted up his head. His eyes were still slits and I knew that he still was uneasy.

"Jake, please... go and change back."

Jacob went behind a few trees and shifted, soon reappearing with his usual shorts on and a hard glare on his face.

"Hello, my name is Phillip Accalia, as you know, I'm Allia's father."

"Jacob Black."

My dad extended his hand out for him to shake and Jacob did so reluctantly. I knew it was partly because my dad was a vampire that he was so opposed to shaking his hand.

We were suddenly surrounded by the entire pack and the Cullens were appearing one by one as well.

"Phillip!" Carlisle called, rushing over and engulfing his long time friend in a hug. "It's good to see you safe and unscathed!"

"You also Carlisle, and thank you — all of you," He looked around at everyone quickly with a grateful smile. "For taking care of my baby, Allia."

"Dad..." I grimaced. "I'm not a baby."

"You'll always be my baby, Allia." He teased.

"How did you make it out alive?" Jacob questioned. "You vanished right when the fighting started."

"May I explain to you after we get out of the rain?"

Everyone then realized that it was, in fact, still raining, and so everyone decided to head to the Cullen residence. Rosalie could be heard muttering lowly about having the "wet dog smell" in her house and having to spray Frebreze cans all night.

We made it to the house in minutes and everyone was given a fresh towel to dry themselves with thanks to Esme. We all thanked her and soon my dad began to explain.

"Well, as the fight began, Corin took me to my quarters and began to attack me, claiming that I had been a traitor all along. I managed to kill her and made my escape then. I kept a low profile and then made my way onto an airplane to the states. After that, I was continuously on the move over here to Forks, knowing that Carlisle lived here." He said. "That's basically it."

"Well, we're thankful that you escaped, Phillip." Carlisle told him.

"So am I, Carlisle."

"Do you plan on staying here, Dad?" I asked. "Or did you want to move back to Italy?"

"Where would _you_like to live, Allia?"

I looked over at Jacob and smiled. "Here. I want to stay here, with the Cullens, the pack, and Jacob."

"It's settled then. Besides... maybe it's best that Italy remains in the past." He replied.

"Phillip, I realize that Allia may be your daughter, however, we have a treaty with the Cullens." Sam stated with his usual booming authority.

"Phillip can stay with my family and I." Carlisle suggested.

Sam nodded. "As long as we're clear."

The pack began to get up and leave the Cullen residence. I smile and hugged my dad tightly.

"I love you, dad. Things are going to be going back to normal, I promise."

"I love you, too, Allia. I know they will, honey."

We separated, he gave me a kiss on the top of my head, and I walked with Jacob out of the house. We walked into the woods and Jacob shifted behind some trees, soon reappearing as a wolf. I hopped onto his back and then he began to jog back towards Emily's and Sam's.

"Jacob... I love you." I murmured into his fur coat. "You're the only thing that truly matters to me." He gave a soft bark and I smile into his fur, letting my fingers graze through it and become intertwined with it. "No matter what or who you are. You're going to be the one for me."


	23. Epilogue

_You are cordially invited to celebrate_

_the wedding of_

_Allia Accalia_

_to_

_Jacob Ephraim Black_

_on Monday afternoon_

_July the 18th_

_At six o'clock_

_Located at First Beach_

_Followed by a reception_

_R.S.V.P. 562.217.9868_

Allia couldn't believe this was happening, however, she was happy that it was. She sealed up the last letter and placed it onto the small stack with all the others. Allia sighed contently as she slipped on a light jacket over her clothes to keep her warm due to the chilly breeze outside, and made her way outside and into Sam's truck where Emily was waiting for her. She placed the letters in her lap as she buckled herself in and Emily started the engine, the two of them then heading towards the Post Office in Forks.

"Can you believe it's _finally_happening, Allia?" Emily sighed contently, a dreamy smile plastered to her face.

"It feels... weird, but a good weird." Allia replied with a small smile as she fiddled and played with the engagement ring on her finger.

She couldn't believe it had been two years since she first laid eyes on Jacob Black, and here she was, seven-hundred-and-thirty days later getting ready to marry him. She gazed out the window, her small smile growing as she remembered how it all happened when he proposed.

_Their flight had landed and the couple disembarked the flying machine, exiting the terminals and collecting their luggage from baggage claim. Jacob and Allia walked out into the open and hailed down a taxi, taking the vehicle towards Allia's old hometown._

Jacob had told Allia that Carlisle had bought them both tickets to Italy so they would be able to get away for a while and finally act like a real couple. Allia was ecstatic when she found out, and thanked Carlisle a million times. She was happy to be visiting her home, especially when she knew there would be no strings attached to this trip.

The driver pulled over to the side of the road and the two got off, paying and tipping the driver well. As he left, the two of them pulled their little luggage through the trees and brush until they arrived at the building Allia used to call home.

She gazed in awe at the building as she took in the sight. It looked great. No weeds or wild grass plagued the area, there were actual windows instead of shattered glass, and if she didn't know any better, she would've suspected people currently lived there.

"It looks... good as new..." Allia murmured, her mouth agape slightly.

"Yea," Jacob chuckled.

"Who did this...?"

"Well, your dad did leave last week to see if there was anything he wanted from here, maybe he decided to clean it up to keep the memory of this place a nice one. You never know." He replied with a shrug.

"Yea, maybe." Allia nodded.

They carried in their things and got situated in the home. Allia and Jacob plopped onto the small couch and let their bodies mold together as they cuddled. It was late, and both of them were worn out.

Jacob knew that he had to ask right now, it would eat at him for the entire night if he didn't.

He placed a kiss on her cheek and began to whisper in her ear. "You know I love you, right, Allia?"

"Yes, and I love you, too."

He smiled and nuzzled his face into her neck, inhaling her sweet scent. "I want to prove it to you." He placed her to the side with ease and stood up, walking over to the bookshelf and gazing at their titles.

"There's no need, Jake. I know you love me." Allia giggled lightly.

"But I want to." He smiled and then pulled out one of the larger books, plopping back down onto the couch beside her. He opened the book and flipped to a page. "Read this..."

Allia looked down at the paper and began to read what was on it. "Allia Accalia, I remember the day we met. I had just come back from the Cullens' and you had just saved Leah's life. I didn't know it yet, but that day would be the beginning of a life changing relationship. I'm truly the luckiest man in the universe to have fallen in love with such an amazing person. Allia Accalia, I love you more than words can express. I love how you smile at my corny jokes that aren't even funny. I love how your laughter brings a smile to my face. I love how you are always helping people out because you care. I love that with three simple words you can make one of my worst days into my best. Most of all, I love that you chose me to be your boyfriend." Allia looked up at Jacob with watery eyes that were ready to spill over.

"Oh Jake... that's so sweet of you." She chuckled as she wiped away one or two tears that fell.

"I'm not done yet, Allia." He replied with a small smile, and got down on one knee in front of her on the floor. "So now I have to ask. Allia Accalia, will you do the me the greatest honor of all and marry me? Will you choose me once again...?" Jacob turned the page in the book and she saw that a large square was cut out from the book, making hundreds of pages incomplete, and in the middle, was an open black velvet box with a humble diamond ring.

Allia's blue eyes connected with Jacob's brown ones that looked hopeful. A grin broke out on her face and he smiled back at her. "Yes, yes, yes! A million times, yes!" She shouted, closing the book, placing it to the side and tackling Jacob to the floor.

The ring can wait. _She told herself._

Jacob and Allia shared a long and passionate kiss and he moved a few strands of hair behind her head. "Thank you... I love you, Allia."

"And I love

you_, Jacob Black."_

Jacob got the book and opened it back up, taking out the box and retrieving the ring. He slipped it onto her finger and it was a perfect fit, at which Allia smiled uncontrollably, and he kissed her once again.

"So, how does it feel to be my fiancé?" Allia inquired.

"Incredible." Jacob answered.

"Good, because the same goes for me." Allia then went in for another kiss.

Allia began to blush at what played out next in her mind.

"Here we are," Emily smiled. "Jacob will be here to pick you up in a few, he's just ending his patrol shift."

"Alright, thanks for dropping me off, Em." Allia smiled gratefully.

"Of course, be careful and no talking to strangers." She teased.

"Yes, mother." Allia rolled her eyes and closed the door after getting out, soon walking up the cement stairs and into the post office.

Allia bought some stamps and moved to the side, putting them onto the corner of each letter until she had no more. She stood in line and then was called up. After she handed off the letters, she couldn't stop smiling as she walked out of the post office. She headed down the few stairs and arms wrapped around her waist and she was pulled into someone's chest.

"Hello my fiancé," Jacob's deep voice greeted.

"Hello, I missed you."

"I did, too." He replied, leaving a kiss on her forehead. "C'mon, let's go." He pulled her to the car and she got into the red Rabbit. The couple were then speeding down the asphalt road back to La Push.

"You asked Embry, right now?" Allia inquired.

"Yea, he agreed. Did you ask Leah?"

"She agreed, though with much reluctance after being reminded that as the maid of honor she would have to wear a dress." Allia laughed.

"Yea, that sounds like Leah." He chuckled, using both hands on the steering wheel.

Allia's hand went up to Jacob's arm that was on the steering wheel and took hold of it, pulling it away so she could hold his hand. His fingers intertwined with hers and he lifted up her hand and kissed the backside of it, sending a smile her way as well.

"Just watch, time's going to fly by so fast that we'll be married in no time at all."

-{}-

Allia didn't like the butterflies that were going haywire in her stomach. She felt sick to her stomach, but knew that it would go away soon enough.

"How do you feel, Allia?" Emily asked.

"Like I'm about to barf," She bluntly responded.

Emily chuckled and patted her back softly. "That's how it is." She told her. "Don't worry when you see him, it'll feel better and you won't even realize what's happening. You'll just see him and nothing else."

Allia smiled and hugged Emily. "Thank you, for _everything_. You've helped me so much and are a great person, Em."

"You're welcome, Allia. I love helping you, when you stayed with us, you've been like a daughter to Sam and I." She giggled lightly and tapped her stomach. "Between you and me, I think of it as practice for the teenage years."

"You're pregnant?" Leah looked at her cousin wide-eyed.

"Yes," Emily sighed with a small smile. "Please don't tell anyone," She looked at Allia and Leah quickly pleadingly. "I want to tell Sam myself."

"Yea, of course, Congratulations, Emily!" I smiled.

Allia and Emily looked at Leah who stood before them with an expressionless face. Leah looked at her cousin and sighed, soon giving her a small smile. "Congrats, Em. I'm... I'm happy for you, the both of you."

"Thank you, Leah." Emily smiled gratefully, and then pulled her in for a hug.

Allia smiled at the heartwarming sight. She was sure that Leah still felt something for Sam, and hearing the news must have hurt her deep inside, but Allia was proud of her friend for what she said.

"Leah, you look beautiful." Allia complimented.

"Shut up," She mumbled, blushing lightly as she rolled her eyes. Leah was wearing a form-fitting blue dress that hugged her curves nicely. Alice had given Leah jewelry for her to accessorize it with, and she looked stunning.

A little girl walked in next, her long, chestnut brown hair flowing behind her. "Renesmee, honey, you look so adorable. Come here so I can fix your hair." Emily cooed. The little girl gave a small smile and skipped over to Emily, her white flower girl dress swaying gracefully.

"She's right, Nessie, you do look very pretty." Allia nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, Auntie Lia."

Allia and Renesmee had found that they had misjudged the other prematurely. They were now close to one another and Renesmee had even gone as far as calling her Auntie Lia. Allia thought it was endearing and Allia would call her Nessie for short.

After fixing Renesmee's hair, Emily stood up and clapped her hands, a large grin on her lips. "Okay, it's time to go." She declared.

"Excuse me," They all looked up and saw Phillip standing in the door frame. "May I have a moment alone with my daughter?"

"Of course, c'mon, let's go get into the cars." Emily said, taking Renesmee's hands and following Leah out the door.

"What is it, dad?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to savor this moment with you." He replied. "My little girl's getting married. I don't know whether to be happy that she's found love or sad that she's leaving me."

"Oh please, Dad." Allia chuckled. "I'm not leaving you, I'm going to visit you just as much as I do now."

"I know, I'm just kidding." Phillip laughed. "Oh, now that I think of it, there is something I came here to do." He reached in his pocket and pulled out two feathered earrings. "When I went back to the house in Italy, I found these in your mother's old jewelry box. I realized that these were the same earrings she wore when we got married. I think she would want you to have them, Allia."

"Thank you, dad."

"You're welcome, Allia. I think she would want you to think of it as a gift from her."

Allia's eyes grew misty and she nodded. "This means a lot to me." She then put them on and looked at her outfit and knew she was ready now.

"Come on, let's get you married."

Allia and Phillip made their way out of the home. Allia was thankful that Sam had made an exception — with the utmost reluctance — to allow the Cullens onto the La Push territory for Allia's and Jacob's Wedding. Bella and Edward stood with each other at their cars, Edward was dressed in a black tuxedo, while Bella wore a flowing light blue dress. They looked at Alli and Phillip as they left the house and smiled.

"You look great, Allia." Bella smiled.

"Yes, you do." He agreed with a small nod and smile.

"Thank you." Allia replied, walking over and hugging both of them. "And thank you, Edward. If it weren't for you, I might not be here right now."

"You're welcome."

Everyone loaded up into the cars and drove down to First Beach. When they arrived, there were white chairs place a few feet before the shore. Everyone was sitting down already and Allia, Emily, Leah, Renesmee, and the others walked towards them.

They Edward, Bella and Emily went to their seats and everyone realized that the ceremony was about to begin. They all rose and it all began.

Renesmee was the first to go as she walked down the aisle, tossing the flowers onto the sandy floor delicately. She was followed by Seth who was the ring bearer. Leah and Embry walked down the middle together and Allia smiled, soon realizing that it was now her turn.

"You ready?" Phillip asked his daughter.

"As I'll ever be."

Allia and Phillip linked arms and the two began their way down the aisle. As Allia grew closer to Jacob, her heart began to beat faster. Jacob was wearing a black tuxedo with a narrow tie and he was smiling at her happily.

She reached the end of the aisle and stood before him, feeling nervous and shy. The ceremony went on and they said their vows, soon it was time for the rings.

"The wedding ring is a symbol of eternity. It is an outward sign of an inward and spiritual bond which unites two hearts in endless love. And now as a token of your love and of your deep desire to be forever united in heart and soul, you, Jacob, may place a ring on the finger of your bride." The priest declared.

"I give you this ring to wear with love and joy. As a ring has no end, neither shall my love for you. I choose you to be my wife this day and forevermore."

"I will forever wear this ring as a sign of my commitment and the desire of my heart." Allia replied.

"You may now kiss the bride."

Jacob's lips crashed onto Allia's and her hands weaved themselves into his hair. They pulled away once they realized people were clapping and smiled at their audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I now give you Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Ephraim Black."

The couple made their way down the aisle and Jacob held her close to his body. "How does it feel to be my wife, Mrs. Black?" He inquired.

"Incredible."

"Good, because I feel the same way about being your husband."

The two shared a kiss and walked towards the car. "Let's start our new life together."


End file.
